Justin Ries
Staff Writer
The women’s soccer team continued their season at Ortmayer Stadium on Oct. 2 where they came away with a 1-1 draw against the Chapman Panthers.
The first half saw no scoring from either side. Chapman kicked off to start the half and that was the first of a few times they had possession in the half.
La Verne dominated the first half in time of possession. Despite the fact that they controlled the ball for most of the first half, they did not get many shots on goal off. They ended the first half with just three shots, though there were opportunities for more.
During one play, junior forward Megan Llopis ran down the right side of the field with the ball as defenders started to close in on her. She played it into the middle of the box but no one was there for the Leopards, so a Chapman defender was able to clear the ball.
On the other hand, when Chapman had possession of the ball, they were able to get four shots off. They had opportunities for more shots on goal, but the Leopards’ defense stayed strong by breaking up passes and clearing out bounces to slow down the momentum Chapman was gaining.
Senior defender Kayla Allen for the Leopards intercepted a through ball played by Chapman for a scoring opportunity and kicked it out of bounds.
La Verne kicked off the second half with possession but it did not last long.
Right from the start of the second half, Chapman had all the momentum. They led the half in time of possession and were able to get off a bundle of shots on goal which put the Leopards’ defense to work.
“We were just fighting for our life at that point. Our goal was to find the forwards so they can do their thing,” junior center back Kylie Klein said.
Most of the shots that Chapman took rolled right to the feet of senior goalkeeper Abigail Macedo. Other shots ricocheted off Macedo’s hands, but she was able to gobble up the ball right away.
Once the 62nd minute hit things started to change for La Verne. They started to have the ball at their feet more often.
“We felt like a goal was coming on so we changed shape and our momentum shifted a little bit so I think it was a good technical coaching move,” head coach Lauryn Pehanich said.
This change proved to be an amazing decision. It changed the direction of the half for the Leopards.
“We changed shape and immediately got the goal,” Pehanich said.
La Verne scored the first goal of the match off a free kick that was sent into the box to the back post. Llopis headed the ball toward the goal where it trickled around the goal line. Then junior midfielder Natalia Cruz tapped it into the back of the goal to give La Verne the lead at the 82nd minute mark.
“It was really exciting to get that goal because we have been working on that at practice, like the set pieces, so just getting a head on it was very uplifting for the whole team,” Cruz said.
“We were working on headers all week with set plays or with crosses so I was just trying to find my head on the back of the ball and was just trying to put it in the net,” Llopis said.
“We had 8 minutes left and you just have to rage the storm,” Pehanich said.
Once the Leopards got that goal they went on the defensive for the rest of the game. They did everything to keep the ball away from Chapman.
“We were doing all the small things right. We were taking it to the corner flag, we got corners, we got deep throw-ins so they were managing the game well,” Pehanich said.
The Leopards were able to waste a lot of time by taking the ball to the corner and shielding the Chapman players forcing them to kick the ball out allowing the Leopards to keep possession.
As the final minutes of the game began, Chapman got the ball and they went on the attack. They were able to cross the ball into the box. It trickled around and made it to the back post, where junior defender Casey Gilligan was waiting to tap the ball into the net in the 89th minute.
La Verne would not have enough time to get another goal and would finish the game with a 1-1 draw.
“I can be proud of the progress that the women have made since the beginning of the season,” Pehanich said.
The Leopards will be back in action this upcoming week for more Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
The Leopards tied Occidental, 1-1, on Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium and lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday evening, 1-0.
La Verne faces the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium for Homecoming and senior day.
Justin Ries can be reached at justin.ries@laverne.edu.
Justin Ries is a junior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Emily Casillas is a junior photography major with a concentration in sports photography. She is a staff photographer for both the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, as well as La Verne Athletics. Her work can also be found at Shot2byEmily.
