Miguel Navarro
Staff Writer
The Leopards saw a lot of improvement in their non-conference game of the season, however they were unable to score a goal in the 0-0 draw against George Fox on Monday at Ortmayer Stadium.
The La Verne Leopards are coming off a hard-fought 2-0 loss against Cal State San Bernardino on Friday. The pressure for the Leopards to get their first goal of the season was on.
Early in the game, the Leopards did not wait around and had a clear approach. They played aggressively throughout the game. They outshot the Bruins, 12-3.
“A lot of what we’ve been working on has been the defensive transition from winning it to what we do with it next,” head coach Lauryn Pehanich said. “I thought we had a lot of possession of the ball and were able to move the ball properly.”
Due to the Leopards’ ability to maintain the time of possession, they were able to create plenty of scoring opportunities.
Finally, in the 12th minute, the Leopards created their first shot by junior midfielder Kailey Kolesar. She led the team with four shots on target.
“I was really just looking to take advantage of the opportunities I was given,” Kolesar said.
As the game progressed, the Leopards created a couple of close opportunities to score early in the game. In the 24th minute, both sophomore midfielder Lex Sahagian and Kolesar were unable to finish their shot attempts.
With the Leopards’ attack continuing to create chances, their defense continued to shine and limit any chances from the Bruins. The time of possession was dominated by the Leopards as they headed into halftime.
Fresh off the break, the Bruins came out with an aggressive attack of their own.
However, any opportunity to take the lead was quickly stopped by the freshman goalkeeper Katy Beck. She is coming off a great nine-save performance that she continued to build on in a big way.
“I would say what has been working so well is the encouragement from my teammates and knowing I have to show up for them,” Beck said. “Also being there for my team and doing what I can do.”
Quickly, the momentum of the game was back in favor of the Leopards as they continued to apply pressure on the Bruins’ defense. Halfway through the second half, the urgency for La Verne rose as the game remained tied.
As the time wound down, the Leopards failed to execute a few opportunities to take the advantage. The opportunities mounted with eight shots were attempted in the second half, but none found the back of the net.
“There are too many times that our attacking line has possession of the ball and has an opportunity to either take a one-versus-one or create a two-versus-one situation, and it is not quite in their mind to go out and do it themselves,” Pehanich said.
As the closing minutes of the game arrived, the Leopards continued to show their effort but were unable to come away with the much-needed goal.
Despite not seeing the results they wanted, there were still positives to take from the game.
“If we keep just working hard, then I feel like we will get our chances and eventually score a goal,” sophomore midfielder Khalea Turingan said.
With this draw, the Leopards’ record is now 0-1-1 in season play.
Their next matchup will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Santa Clarita against The Master’s University.
Miguel Navarro can be reached at miguel.navarro@laverne.edu.
Miguel Navarro is a senior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and is a staff writer for the Campus Times. He also serves as a broadcaster at the University of La Verne, and he hopes to one day work in sports media.
