THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - With an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament on the line, the Cal Lutheran women's soccer team battled Pomona-Pitzer in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament Championship inside Rolland Stadium. The Sagehens broke through midway through the second half and held on for a 1-0 upset victory over the Regals on a chilly Saturday night.
The loss marks the third consecutive season that CLU has fallen in the SCIAC PST title game while the tournament championship victory is the first ever for Pomona-Pitzer.
The first half got off to a slow start with both teams battling on the defensive end. Each team tallied four shots and would head into the break in a scoreless tie.
To start the second half, Kali Youngdahl got the first great look at goal for either team when she hit a shot from the left side that the Sagehens keeper, Annie Wedel, leaped up to swat away for a save.
The Regals kept the pressure on in the second half with a handful of shots from Bianca Deardorff but the Sagehens defense would remain strong.
In the 65th minute, it was the Pomona-Pitzer offense that came alive and executed the biggest play of the game. Abby Onderwyzer Gold weaved through the Violet and Gold defense inside the box and drove a shot to the left corner of the goal to give the Sagehens a 1-0 lead.
CLU continued to get looks offensively, and outshot Pomona-Pitzer 12-3 in the second half, but could not come through with an equalizer as the clock ticked down to zero.
The Regals outshot the Sagehens 16-7 in the game and held a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Deardorff led all players in the game with 5 shots, Youngdahl added three and Raquel Weckhurst finished with two. Coral Hasley totaled five saves in front of the net for CLU.
Onderwyzer Gold led the Sagehens with three shots to go along with her third goal of the year. Danika Bethune also tallied three shots and Wedel finished with four total saves.
Pomona-Pitzer (11-8-1) earns the SCIAC's automatic bid for the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament, which will begin next week. It is the second time in Sagehens history that they will compete in the NCAA Tournament, previously qualifying in 2005.
Cal Lutheran (9-9-2) concludes its season and will graduate seniors Mallory Carcich, Deanna Dakar, Brittany Eremita, Jenny Kraska, Jenna Malinowski, Katie Moyer, Julie Watson and Weckhurst.
Box Score: PP 1, CLU 0
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