THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team continued its dominant stretch in SCIAC play Wednesday night, rolling past Whittier 6-1 at William Rolland Stadium to remain unbeaten in conference action.
The Regals wasted no time getting started, with senior captain
Hana Sawan opening the scoring in the eighth minute. Sawan unleashed a strike from distance for her first goal of the season, putting Cal Lutheran ahead 1-0. Less than a minute later,
Stephenie Hackett doubled the lead, finishing a pass from
Jessica Sprouse to give the Regals a 2-0 advantage.
Cal Lutheran continued to apply pressure, and
Tessa French delivered another highlight in the 23rd minute with a long-range strike of her own to extend the lead to 3-0.
Whittier found the back of the net in the 36th minute, but the Regals carried a two-goal advantage into halftime and continued to control the match after the break.
Hackett struck again in the 80th minute, finishing a pass from
Atiana Santoyo for her second goal of the night.
Chloe Smith then took over late, scoring twice in the final five minutes.
Elena Baltazar assisted Smith's first goal in the 86th minute before Smith converted a penalty kick in the 89th to complete the 6-1 victory.
The Regals finished with 25 shots, including 15 on target, and earned 11 corner kicks while holding Whittier to just two shots in each half. Goalkeeper
Kira Kasarda made two saves in the victory.
With the win, the Regals improve to 8-1-3 overall and 5-0-2 in SCIAC play, extending their unbeaten conference run.
Next, Cal Lutheran hits the road Saturday, October 10, for a 7 p.m. match against SCIAC newcomer Azusa Pacific University. The contest will count towards the overall records, but not the conference standings as the Cougars continue their NCAA reclassification from Division II to Division III.
