Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The No. 11 Pomona-Pitzer Women's Soccer team opened up their conference season with a 4-0 win over Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponent La Verne on Wednesday afternoon at the Pomona-Pitzer Soccer Field.
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 5-0-1 overall and open up 1-0 in conference play.
The Sagehens had four different goal scorers tonight as senior Lily Gane, senior Bria VarnBuhler, sophomore Anna Ponzio and first-year Hannah Mandell all found the back of the net in the win. Goalkeeper Isa Berardo added another win to their total as they combined for the shutout with fellow goalkeeper sophomore Lindsey Uteda.
The Pomona-Pitzer defense was rock solid against the Leopards as they allowed just one shot in the entire match, which came off of a free kick opportunity. The Sagehens' offense peppered the La Verne goalkeeper all day long as they fired off 21 total shots with 16 of them on goal. The Sagehens opened up the scoring in the 21st minute after a flurry of shots at the Leopard keeper, junior Chloe Hamer crossed a ball into the box that found the head of Gane who placed into the lower left corner to give the Sagehens a 1-0 lead.
The Sagehens followed with two more goals in the half as the next goal came just three minutes later after a bouncing ball in the box was settled by VarnBuhler who took a sliding shot that deflected off of a defender and found the back of the net to double the lead at 2-0. The third goal of the first half came just before halftime in the 42nd minute after a deflection from a cross landed in an opportune position for Mandell who turned and slotted a ball past the keeper to extend the lead to 3-0 heading into the half.
The Sagehens added one more goal in the second half around the 59th minute mark. After a turnover by the La Verne defense, VarnBuhler played a through ball that broke Ponzio free. Ponzio sat down the keeper on a one on one opportunity and ended with a clinical finish to cap off the day for the Sagehens with a 4-0 win in their first SCIAC contest of the season.
Up Next: The Sagehens will travel to SCIAC opponent Chapman on Saturday, September 21st at 11:00 a.m.
