by Nathan Baca
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne women’s soccer team shut out Whittier College Wednesday night after ULV’s offense overworked the opposing goalkeeper, creating a 3-0 score.
Katie Zwissler, Nicholette Castro and Adriana Ramirez led the Leopard assault that overwhelmed Whittier’s defense with a team total of 25 shots for the night as compared to 8 for the Poets.
ULV’s defense stood firm meanwhile, with goalkeeper Kim Schrepfer saving seven incoming shots throughout both halves. Schrepfer said she was pleased with fellow teammate Kelly Black who, “has been a solid filling in for Nancy Santana.” Santana was out due to an injury for the night game.
The Leopards first registered on the scorecards 19 minutes into the game with a kick by Castro that went by Whittier goalie Averyl Growden with an assist by Rachel Lieberman. Just thirty seconds before, Castro had come close to scoring but kicked the ball out of bounds when all that was needed was a tap towards the undefended goal.
Growden’s game was nearly ended early after a desperate save caused her to land on the field face first. She shook it off, however, and continued to guard the Poet’s goal for the rest of the game.
Forward Ramirez was intent on not letting Growden stop the ball as the first half drew to a close. A confused melee ensued for control of the ball near Whittier’s goal when Poet Melissa Kellogg tried to fend off the encroaching Leopards. Ramirez took advantage of the confusion and took the third shot in as many seconds to give ULV a comfortable lead.
Twenty minutes after the previous score, Zwissler headed the ball to the net after Growden missed the save. Though thirty minutes remained in the game, Whittier had already lost the initiative. Despite this, Poet midfielder Erin Hurley kicked five shots at the Leopard goal in the remaining time.
The Leopards record now improves to 7-7 this season. La Verne mounted an overall team effort to overcome Occidental College while away on Saturday. This past Monday while at Chapman University, ULV was narrowly defeated after the Panther’s Briana Benson scored off of a rebound in the middle of the second half for the game’s lone goal.
