(OAKLAND, Calif.) No. 17 PLNU Women's Soccer wasn't pleased with its first-half performance on Saturday against Holy Names, but the Sea Lions overcame a subpar opening 45 minutes to pick up a 3-0 road win in PacWest action.
 
"I was proud of the group for getting the result," Head Coach Kristi Kiely said. "It's important to keep getting three points."
 
In the 16th minute, Alana Diaz scored her seventh goal of the season to go joint-top in the PacWest Golden Boot race.
 
"The early goal was very important in this game, as we weren't sharp early on," Kiely said. "We were happy to be up a goal at that point."
 
Diaz' goal was all Point Loma was able to muster in the first half, in which PLNU held a slim 4-3 shot advantage.
 
"We, collectively, weren't pleased with our performance in the first half," Kiely said. "We weren't sharp with the ball, in our decision making or defensively."
 
But the Sea Lions were able to make adjustments at the break, adding a pair of goals and outshooting the Hawks 8-1 in the second half.
 
Lauren O'Malley, off an assist from Zoe Crockett, scored less than five minutes after play resumed. Then Jillian Tubbs, who assisted Diaz' opener, added an insurance goal and her first of the season in the 86th minute.
 
"I thought we did better in the second half in most of the areas we were poor in in the first," Kiely said. "It's not easy to make adjustments and I was glad we were able to."
 
Defensively, reigning PacWest Defender of the Week Julia Pinnell kept her fourth shutout of the season.
 
"We've tried to tighten up our defending and get back to more consistency in keeping the ball out of our net," Kiely said. "The group did great today to make that happen."
 
Point Loma (7-1-2 overall, 2-0 PacWest) now enters a crucial week as it pertains to the conference standings.
 
On Wednesday, PLNU travels to face Biola (3-6-1, 2-1), with whom the Sea Lions are level on points with in conference play, before hosting Azusa Pacific (5-2-3, 2-0-1) on Saturday.