CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Soccer team survived and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 overtime win over Pacific Lutheran on Saturday morning at the Pomona-Pitzer Soccer Field.
 
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improved to 16-0-3 overall and moved on to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Sagehens were led by Hannah Hong who scored the only goal of the match in the first overtime period off of an assist from Anjali Nuggehalli. Patricia DePalma had another shutout for the Sagehens in her first NCAA Tournament start with three saves for the win.
 
The Sagehens had the luxury of hosting the First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and had the most of their opportunity with a win over the Lutes in the opening round. 
 
Pacific Lutheran came out looking for an early goal after they pressed hard in the opening 15 minutes and tried to catch the Sagehens' defense out of position.  The Lutes had a few solid chances in the first half, but DePalma had a few good runs off her line to clear away any potential scoring chances to keep the game even.  
 
As the game went on, the Sagehens started to dominate possession and controlled the game on their home field. Pomona-Pitzer had a few good shots on goal late in the first half, but the two teams went into halftime scoreless at 0-0.
 
The Sagehens dominated the second half with the Lutes constantly clearing balls out of their defensive third for the final 45 minutes of regulation. Pomona-Pitzer had nine shots in the second half while Pacific Lutheran only fired off two, but still managed to hold off the Sagehens and send the game into overtime.
 
The game went into unfamiliar territory with the Sagehens' first game in extra time this season, but they continued to dominate possession and get the better chances on offense. The breakthrough goal finally came in the 97^th minute of the match as Nuggehalli played in a perfect cross to the head of Hong who lifted it over the keeper into the far corner to put the Sagehens up 1-0.
 

 
After taking the lead late in the first overtime period, the Sagehens were able to stall out the clock in the second overtime and held on for their 10^th NCAA Tournament win in the past eight years.
 
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament as they host Cal Lutheran on Sunday, November 12^th at 1:00 p.m.