CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Soccer team opened 2023 with a 1-0 win against nonconference opponent UC Santa Cruz on Friday afternoon at the Pomona-Pitzer Soccer Field.
 
Senior Kelsey Shintaku scored the only goal of the contest in the 1-0 win off of an assist from Anjali Nuggehalli.  The Sagehens outshot the Banana Slugs 17-4 with nine of those on target. The Sagehens also managed to collect 10 corners, scoring off of one of them, while holding UCSC to just two.
 
Pomona-Pitzer dominated possession throughout the entire 90 minutes against UC Santa Cruz, but made it their mission early on as they pressed for an opening goal early in the game.  The Sagehens missed out on a few good scoring opportunities in the early stages of the first half while the defense dominated keeping goalkeeper Hadley Johnson comfortable in front of goal.
 
The Sagehens got their game-winning goal just before halftime off of a well-orchestrated set piece from a corner.  A short ball was played into the feet of Nuggehalli, who crossed in a beautiful ball to the head of Shintaku crashing into the box beat the keeper, and put the Sagehens up 1-0 heading into halftime.

 
Pomona-Pitzer continued to dominate the ball into the second half and limited the chances for UCSC.  The Sagehens tried to put the game out of reach with a couple of good chances to double their lead, but Amelia Brown in goal for the Banana Slugs had an admirable performance in goal to keep the deficit at 1-0 in the second half.
 
Although the lead stayed at 1-0, the Sagehens were comfortable on the ball late in the game and were able to hold off Santa Cruz at home for the win.
 
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Trinity on Sunday, September 3^rd at 11:00 a.m.