THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team came out firing on Wednesday night as they recorded 24 shots, including 14 on goal, as they defeated Whittier 3-1. Kali Youngdahl scored twice for the Regals on a game-high ten shots, and Katie Moyer added a goal off a late penalty kick.
Right from the start of the game CLU dominated possession and created numerous opportunities on the offensive end. Just four minutes into the contest Youngdahl had her first good look at the goal but the Whittier goalie made a difficult save. Bri Pinal had a chance just moments later off a corner kick for CLU but the Poets goalie made yet another stop.
It seemed only a matter of time for the Regals to knock one into the back of the net, and that time came in the 29th minute off a CLU free kick. Olivia Leyva kicked the ball into the box from thirty-five yards out and Moyer headed it right to Youngdahl who headed it in the goal for the 1-0 lead.
Holding on to the lead heading into the second half, the Violet and Gold kept up the offensive attack and Youngdahl punched in yet another goal in the 77th minute. Charlotte Rosen found Youngdahl patrolling the middle of the box and found her for the assist.
In the 83rd minute, a Poet foul in the box led to a penalty kick for Cal Lutheran. Moyer stepped up calm and collected and buried the shot to the right corner of the goal for the 3-0 lead.
Through the first 84 minutes of the game, CLU held Whittier to zero shot attempts and hardly any time of possession. In the 84th minute, however, the Poets would make their only shot attempt of the game count with a deep shot after goalie Kiki Bailey had come up in the box.
Despite allowing one goal, the defense for the Regals was intimidating all night as they intercepted pass after pass and created opportunities for the offense. Leyva, Mallory Carcich and Jenna Malinowski led the way on the defensive end and Bailey improved her record to 3-0-2 in the goal.
Overall, the Regals outshot the Poets 24-1 and had an edge in corner kicks 4-1. Moyer was second behind Youngdahl in shot attempts with four, while Pinal and Sierra Duarte had two apiece. Six other Regals had shot attempts in the game.
Cal Lutheran (4-4-2, 2-2-1 SCIAC) will look to keep the hot shooting alive when they hit the road to face Occidental on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
Box Score: WC 1 CLU 3
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