PLNU Athletics

(SAN MARCOS, Calif.) PLNU Women's Soccer fought back in the second half to draw level with Cal State San Marcos before the Cougars scored again late to defeat the Sea Lions, 2-1.
 
"I continue to not like our results but like a lot of what our group is doing," Head Coach Kristi Kiely said. "The results will not break us, they will only expose what we need to get better at. At the end of the day, you must secure the boxes, and we are currently not doing that. I believe we are capable and I believe we will but for now it's back to work."
 
Despite outshooting CSUSM in the opening 45 minutes, 8-3, PLNU trailed at the half by a 1-0 margin after the hosts scored an early goal in the sixth minute.
 
Then just as they did in two of their previous three games, the Sea Lions battled back from a goal down to equalize in the second half.
 
PLNU was rewarded in the second half when Kylee Jerome leveled the game with her first goal of the season, coming off a first-time finish from a low-driven Maddy Saruwatari cross. Jerome became the seventh different Sea Lion to score a goal this season.
 
However, the Cougars struck again just three minutes later with what proved to be the game-winner.
 
CSUSM scored twice on its only two shots on goal in the game, with PLNU forcing five saves total from the Cougars' goalkeeper and outshooting the hosts 12-4 overall.
 
"We won in every stat line and lost the game on two moments," Kiely said. "In two weeks, that will matter a great deal. For now, we will have to choose to learn from it or stay stuck. I believe in our group to learn."
 
Point Loma (1-2-3 overall) concludes non-conference play next week with a home game against Biola on Thursday at 3 p.m. followed by an away match at Concordia on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.