by Chrissy Zehrbach
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne women’s soccer team made history last week with its first ever victory over Cal Lutheran University in the squad’s 15 year history and head coach Wendy Zwissler’s 11-year career.
The Leopards handed the Regals their first conference loss of the season and ended the long standing Cal Lu dominance.
“I’ve waited 11 years for that day to come,” Zwissler said. “The smile hasn’t come off my face.”
After a great save 25 minutes into the first half, Regal goalie Pamela Clark took a shot down the field that reflected off her own teammate. As she went to recover the ball, senior forward Adrianna Ramirez knocked it into the goal to give the Leopards a 1-0 lead.
The second half also saw a Leopard goal from freshman forward Jacque Garcia on a penalty kick that sailed over the Regal defenders and sank deep into the net.
Five minutes later, the Regals responded with a break-away goal that slipped past freshman goalie Leslie Griffith as she dove in an attempt to stop the ball.
The remainder of the game was dominated by the Leopards as they held onto their 2-1 lead for the triumph.
“The win was a great accomplishment for the girls,” Zwissler said. “They fought through it and did a great job.”
The Leopards increased their winning streak to six consecutive games, defeating Pomona-Pitzer Saturday morning and Occidental Wednesday night.
During the first round of Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, ULV handed Pomona-Pitzer its first conference win of the season in a rescheduled game as a result of the Williams Fire.
In spite of this defeat, the Leopards took what was rightfully theirs with a 4-1 win.
The Leopards were first on the scoreboard with a goal from senior forward Adrianna Ramirez.
The Sagehens rallied back with a goal from Anna Renery to tie the score at the half.
Not to be defeated again, the Leopards put away three more goals early in the second half, securing their win.
Senior forward Monica Martinez contributed two goals to the win, and freshman forward Courtney Lowry scored one.
“We had a little bit of a let-down in the first half against Pomona, but we survived it by making great second half adjustments,” Zwissler said.
The Leopards pulled through a fierce game against Occidental, prevailing 2-1 as they defeated the Tigers for the second time this season.
The Leopards took an early lead in the first few minutes of the game.
Junior forward Annette Rivas took a shot into the corner off an assist from senior forward Adrianna Ramirez.
Ten minutes before the end of the first half, freshman forward Courtney Lowry scored on a direct kick, increasing the Leopards’ lead to 2-0.
Midway through the second half, Occidental’s Tiffany Coleman headed a corner kick into the Leopard goal, putting the Tigers on the board.
Further attempts to score were futile as the Leopards held the Tigers until the buzzer. But Occidental did not go down without a fight.
“They’re really aggressive,” senior Monica Martinez said.
Recent SCIAC wins have moved the Leopards into third place in the conference with a 6-3 record, 10-6 overall.
“We’ve been working really hard to win,” Martinez said. “We just need to shoot a little more. We’ve got the skills; we’ve just got to finish it.”
The next challenge for the Leopards will come against Whittier at 11 a.m. tomorrow in Whittier. In the last match up between the two teams, ULV was upset 1-2.
The Leopards will no doubt put forth effort to defeat the Poets this time around.
“We are all working toward one common goal, and that is to win,” Zwissler said. “We are small but mighty.”
