(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women's Soccer received their national championship rings before Saturday's PacWest match against Westmont.
Point Loma ensured those celebrations would continue after the game as well, as the No. 16 Sea Lions defeated the Warriors 2-0 to continue their perfect start to conference play.
"Today was a joy and was celebratory from start to finish," Head Coach
Kristi Kiely said. "The crowd was tremendous, the group from last year was tremendous, the opponent was great, and our players played well. I just couldn't have asked for a better day."
Point Loma dominated possession in the first half and outshot Westmont 10-2 in the opening 45 minutes.
Alana Diaz hit the right post, but the game remained scoreless going into the break.
Bethany Arabe had a bright start to the second half, slaloming through the Warriors' defense before her left-footed effort was blocked.
Arabe continued to pose a threat and was rewarded with the opening goal in the 62nd minute.
Left back
Naomi Ellis played a through ball on the left wing to
Jillian Tubbs, who squared a ball across the six-yard box for Arabe to tap-in at the back post.
Andrea Lozano then doubled PLNU's lead in the 74th with her first goal as a Sea Lion, after the transfer missed the entirety of last season because of injury.
Nicki Friedman passed the ball to
Alyssa Ketcham out wide on the right flank, with her cross finding Lozano to score from close range.
"
Nicki Friedman and Jill stepped up a lot today, and I think that helped us get going on the best foot that we could," Kiely said. "It took a little bit of time to put the ball in the back of the net, but when we did it was great. I thought the chances we took were good."
The Sea Lions nearly scored on several other occasions, with
Zoe Crockett's header being saved off the goal line and
Emma Thrapp's free kick forcing a fingertip save.
While Point Loma's center back pairing nearly got on the scoresheet themselves, they once again prevented the opposition from finding the back of the net, as Point Loma kept its fourth straight shutout.
"I can't talk enough about the backs," Kiely said of PLNU's defense. "In these games when we're not giving up goals, all you hear about is the front players. But our back line and our goalkeepers are so important to what we do, and a lot of their work goes unnoticed.
"Our backs have the highest player loads on our GPS system. It's not because we're letting balls in or teams are playing really direct and they're having to run a lot. It is because they are heavily involved in our attack and then they have to do the work and the defending.
"So much credit to what we're able to do in and around the goal goes to our back line and our goalkeeper. They are phenomenal and put in a shift every day. They have the highest player loads in games and they have the highest player loads in training, which is remarkable."
Westmont entered the day in a tie for second place in the conference standings, having started its PacWest season 2-0.
"We were prepared for a really tough Westmont team and that's what we faced," Kiely said. "They were obviously coming off two really good wins, so we knew we had to come ready to compete and problem solve. I thought our players did that from the beginning and that was the difference."
Point Loma (7-1-1 overall, 4-0 PacWest) returns to conference action on Thursday at Azusa Pacific. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
"It was so fun to be with the majority of the group that was with us last year," Kiely said of the pregame ring ceremony. "I love that they were able to make it out, staff and players included. It was a joy to be together again. Last year was such a great moment and will be a great memory, so to relive that for just a small second.
"Kudos to our players to be able to transition so quickly into playing against a strong opponent and having to show up well.
"For us it brings great joy that Andrea and Eli Hamilton would be willing to come out and give to us. I would have loved for that to have been Ethan. It was a privilege for them to give us our time and to give that honor."
