SAN DIEGO---Senior day began as a must-win for the Point Loma Sea Lions (13-1-1 overall, 9-1-0 PacWest) quickly turned into a celebration of six program veterans and another PacWest title as they knocked off the Concordia Eagles (7-5-3 overall, 6-2-1 PacWest) Thursday afternoon on the PLNU Soccer Field.
Bethany Arabe was especially eager to put the game away and sparked the offense from the beginning while stretching the defense from the left flank.
After a loose cross wound up at the feet of Arabe in the 10
th minute, the forward crossed the ball back into the middle of box for
Abby Schmidt who headed into the bottom right corner of the goal for the early lead.
Point Loma doubled the lead in the 18
th minute when Alanna Diaz received a pass from senior
Makenna Herrero. Diaz crossed over, splitting two defenders to unleash a shot into the left corner of the net, extending the Sea Lion's lead to 2-0.
In the 26
th minute, Arabe struck herself. After
Naomi Ellis delivered a through ball, Arabe powered a shot from the left edge of the box that tucked into the net and gave Point Loma a 3-0 advantage at halftime.
Just three minutes into the second half,
Olivia Shaw found Diaz in open space. Diaz took a couple of touches from 20 yards out, blasting a shot above the keeper into the back of the net, pushing the Point Loma lead to 4-0.
Point Loma added one more goal after a free kick.
Emma Thrapp lofted the service into the box to the left of the goal,
Kourtney Kessler caught in off the bounce and ripped it back across the goal into the net to extend the lead to 5-0 in the 74
th minute.
The win seals, at least a share of, the PacWest title for the fourth consecutive year. Point Loma will now wait until Monday's selection show (3:00pm PT on NCAA.com) to find out their postseason destination, with a chance they could host the Regional in San Diego next Thursday, November 18
th and Saturday, November 20
th.
Â
