SAN ANTONIO, Tx. – The Pomona-Pitzer women's soccer team fell to Trinity in a hard-fought battle that took 110 minutes and penalty kicks to decide a winner. The Sagehens fell behind in the 19th minute, but Ciannah Correa struck the equalizer the team needed in the 76th minute. The two teams battled through the remaining minutes of regulation along with two overtime periods, sending this game to penalty kicks. The Sagehens struck first with Taylor Venenciano taking the first penalty kick. Naomi Meurice made a diving save to stop the Tigers first PK, but Trinity earned the next four to take a 4-3 decision over Pomona-Pitzer. 

The Sagehens end the season in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament with an overall record of 16-1-3, allowing just eight goals in 20 games while recording 54 of their own. 

Tigers on the Attack

The opening minutes of the game featured a quick attack from Trinity as they put a shot on goal in the third minute. The Sagehens put two shots on goal of their own with attempts from Anna Ponzio and Charlotte Tapp but both shots were saved. 

The Tigers continued to possess the ball and push forward, finding the back of the net in the 19th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Trinity recorded another shot on goal in the 26th minute before the game settled down. The Sagehens began to connect passes and build their attack, seeing a shot from Amanda Khu in the 43rd but the Tigers goalie was there to make the save and keep Pomona-Pitzer off the board at the end of the first half.

Electric Equalizer 

After the halftime break, the Sagehens and Tigers traded possession back-and-forth with Trinity outshooting Pomona-Pitzer 5-1 in the first 25 minutes of the second half. Despite the Tigers holding the shot advantage, the Sagehens were the ones with the shot that mattered. In the 76th minute, Isla Burch found Amanda Khu off a throw in right in front of the Sagehens bench. Khu quickly turned on the ball and slotted a ground pass right past her defender to the feet of Ciannah Correa. Correa then beat her defender and took a right-footed shot to the upper right corner that found the back of the net and sent the bench into a frenzy. Correa's goal tied the game at 1-1 and put a burst of energy into the Sagehens players. Pomona-Pitzer held the Tigers to one shot in the final 14 minutes of regulation and held the better run of play, forcing the game to be decided in overtime. 

Big Saves in OT 

Just 36 seconds into the first overtime period, the Tigers were on the attack, sending a shot on goal but Naomi Meurice was there to keep things tied. Trinity kept the attack going, earning a corner in the 95th minute. Off the corner, the Tigers sent the ball into the center of the box that was shot on goal to the right post. It seemed for a moment that this was the game-winner for Trinity as Meurice made a diving save attempt and just missed, but Anna Ponzio held her ground and made a defensive save with a header to keep the Sagehens alive. In the second overtime period, the Tigers found themselves with two more dangerous opportunities, but Meurice was there both times to keep the game tied 1-1 and send it to penalty kicks to decide a winner. 

Penalty Kicks 

With the season on the line for both teams, it was time for penalty kicks to decide who moves on to the Sweet Sixteen after a stellar 110 minutes of play. 

Taylor Venenciano was the first player to take a penalty kick and drilled it. Naomi Meurice faced off with the Tigers' Ashlyn Zinglemann and made the save to give the Sagehens the 1-0 lead after the first round of penalty kicks. The Sagehens missed the next two with shots from Summer Hasama and Ciannah Correa with the Tigers finding the net on their four remaining kicks. Spencer Duetz and Genevieve Gray both put their penalty kicks in the back of the net, but it was Tigers who earned the 4-3 decision to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. 

Sagehens Season Success

The Sagehens end the season with a 16-1-3 overall record, finishing in the NCAA Second Round. Pomona-Pitzer allowed just eight goals all seasons, recording a 0.39 goals against average through 20 games. The team scored 54 goals on the season with Hannah Mandell, Charlotte Tapp, and Ciannah Correa all recording seven goals. Mandell was the team leader in points as she dished out seven assists in addition to her seven goals. Between the pipes, goalkeepers Naomi Meurice and Taylor Kane played 985 and 875 minutes, respectively. Meurice made 26 saves (.813 SV%) on the season, recording a 0.55 GAA, starting in 13 games. Kane made seven starts in her first-year campaign, recording a 0.21 GAA with 23 saves (.920 SV%) and just two goals allowed. Together, the duo ends the season with a collective 0.39 GAA. 

Defenders Ciannah Correa, Hanna Kim, and Genevieve Gray anchored the team's backline with each player starting in over 17 games to help the Sagehens keep opponents off the scoreboard. Pomona-Pitzer saw consistent excellence from players like Taylor Venenciano, Isla Burch, Spencer Duetz, Anna Ponzio, Eliana Prosnitz, Amanda Khu, Helena Robinowitz, and many others all season as this team stormed through the SCIAC and battled in every minute of their NCAA Tournament run.