THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Playing through a relentless downpour at William Rolland Stadium Sunday afternoon, No. 14 Cal Lutheran women's soccer completed a perfect opening weekend with a 3-0 victory over (RV) Illinois Tech, improving to 3-0-0 on the season while recording their third consecutive shutout.
The Regals outscored their three opponents 7-0 across the weekend, combining a potent attack with a back line that refused to surrender a goal. And once again,
Olivia Suarez was at the center of it all.
The fifth-year midfielder scored twice in the opening 14 minutes before assisting
Sawyer Frye on the Regals' third goal in the second half. She now has four goals and nine points through the first three games of the season.
Suarez wasted little time getting the Regals on the board Sunday, finding the back of the net in the seventh minute off an assist from Frye. Just over six minutes later, she struck again, this time finishing a feed from
Jessica Sprouse to give Cal Lutheran a 2-0 advantage.
The Regals carried that lead into halftime despite the increasingly difficult conditions, with rain continuing to pour throughout much of the afternoon.
Cal Lutheran continued to control the match after the break and added its third goal in the 62nd minute. Suarez turned provider this time, setting up Frye for her second goal of the season to push the lead to 3-0.
The Regals finished with a 15-4 advantage in shots, including a 7-3 edge in shots on goal, while also earning six corner kicks compared to two for Illinois Tech.
On the other end of the field, Cal Lutheran's defense once again proved impenetrable thanks to the back line squad of
Erika Marciel,
Keira Hazard,
Hannah Gamez and
Tessa French.
Kira Kasarda made three saves across 79:51 in goal to record the shutout, while
Kaitlyn Kensinger added the final 10:09 in goal.
Cal Lutheran now hits the road for its next four matches, starting in Seguin, Texas, for a pair of games September 11-13. The Regals will face University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas Lutheran University during the weekend.
