by Chrissy Zehrbach
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne women’s soccer team ended its three-game losing streak Wednesday night with a win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
After a disappointing week of losses, the Leopards were determined to win. They went into the game knowing they owed it to themselves to win and fought harder than they had all week, defeating the CMS Athenas 1-0.
The game was a scoreless battle until the second half when senior forward Adrianna Ramirez scored a goal for the Leopards, ultimately leading them to victory.
Last Friday, the Leopards faced Chapman in a non-conference game in Orange resulting in a disappointing 1-0 loss.
Chapman scored near the end of the first half on an unassisted corner kick from freshman Simi Phull. This goal was the Panther’s first goal in three games.
Trying to get back into the game, the Leopards took 15 shots on the goal. They came close in the second half when a shot got through to the net but was ruled offsides as the forward was behind the last defender when the ball was played.
Many recent games have ended 1-0 for the Leopards. It has been tough on the team but has made them work harder.
“It’s good that they’re close,” sophomore AJ Taggart said. “It means we’re still playing hard.”
As a result, the team’s drive to win is growing stronger.
“Because girls are frustrated, it makes them work harder at practice, and that forces others to work hard as well,” Taggart said.
Earlier in the week, prior to the CMS game, head coach Wendy Zwissler said, “I thought our play progressed as the week progressed. We continued to work hard and learned a lot about ourselves. It’s all about effort, and the effort will help us to a win sooner or later.”
The team’s hard work and effort paid off Wednesday against CMS and should continue to do so through the weekend.
The Leopards now stand with an overall record of 5-6, 2-4 in conference.
Next for the Leopards is a tough game against the 2001 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions, Redlands, at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Ben Hines Field.
The Leopards will begin their second round of SCIAC conference play at 4 p.m. Wednesday, also at Ben Hines Field.
