(SAN DIEGO) A day after being ranked as the No. 1 team in the NCAA West Region rankings, PLNU Women's Soccer was held to a 1-1 draw against Chaminade on Thursday afternoon.
"Chaminade did a good job taking away some of our options and it took us a little to adjust," Head Coach
Kristi Kiely said.
On Point Loma's first shot of the game,
Alison Pepper gave the Sea Lions an early lead in the 22nd minute.
Left back
Naomi Ellis surged on an inward dribble before playing a ball over the top to
Jillian Tubbs on the right wing. Tubbs pulled the ball back to the top of the box for
Olivia Shaw, who curled in a first-time ball for Pepper to knock home.
"Credit to Jillian to pull the ball back on the goal and credit to Pep for being there to finish," Kiely said.
Chaminade then equalized 15 minutes later against the run of play, converting one of their only two shots on goal in the game.
Point Loma nearly re-took its lead multiple times before the end of the half, including just moments after the Silverswords' goal.
Mackenzie Kimmel somehow had her shot saved, straight into the path of Lily Paulson, who just missed the target. Then with less than 20 seconds remaining in the half, a lovely one-two between Kimmel and Alexa Morris sent Kimmel through at goal but her effort was denied.
The Sea Lions continued to pressure the Silversword backline in the second half in search of a go-ahead goal, with nine of PLNU's 15 shots coming after the break.
Paulson laced a left-footed shot from a tight angle, but the keeper was able to make the stop.
Bethany Arabe then cut inside onto her left foot and had her low-driven effort saved, with Zoe Crockett lurking to collect the rebound before the goalkeeper smothered it.
Tubbs nearly picked up a second assist, slipping Crockett through in the left side of the box, but her left-footed shot was pulled just wide.
Arabe got to the byline on multiple occasions looking for a cross in. She was able to find Tubbs at the back post, with her shot being deflected out for a corner.
Emma Thrapp's delivery from PLNU corner kicks and set pieces put the ball into dangerous positions but the visitors managed to clear their lines each time.
The Sea Lions earned seven corners in the second half, and nine overall in the game, but were only able to score once from 15 shots, as the Sea Lions were forced to settle for a second-straight tie despite controlling 63% possession.
Point Loma (9-2-4 overall, 4-1-2 PacWest) is facing an uphill battle in the PacWest title race, with PLNU nine points behind No. 9 Hawaii Hilo (12-0-3 overall, 7-0-2 PacWest) with two games in hand.
In order for the Sea Lions to have a chance at a fourth-straight conference championship, PLNU will need to win out and hope Hilo loses its final match of the season on Saturday at Azusa Pacific.
PLNU returns to the field on Saturday for Senior Day, as Point Loma will honor its seniors with a ceremony before the team's 11:30 a.m. kickoff against Hawaii Pacific.
"We had one job to do today and we weren't able to do it," Kiely said. "But we learn and move on. We'll regroup tomorrow and prepare for Saturday."
