LA VERNE, Calif. — Maribel Duran drove a laser shot in the 18th minute to open her La Verne account and the goal held up as the University of La Verne women's soccer team defeated Occidental, 1-0, on Wednesday night at Ortmayer Stadium.
How it happened: After a JJ Weaver cross into the box was cleared out to the middle of the field, Carlee Chien put in a header into the box towards Kelsea Varner. The ball leaked out to the top of the box and Duran fired a bullet into the net that had no shot at being stopped.
The Oxy trio of Julie Khil, Camille Schrager and Michaela Tsuha came into the game with 19 combined points (7 goals, 5 assists), but the Leopards were able to bottle them with physical play and aggressive defending.
Khil was very active to start the game, getting off three dangerous shots in the first 15 minutes, but the Leopards adjusted and held her to just two more shots the rest of the way.
Players of the game: Duran, who has been a dependable presence in the middle of the field for La Verne, finally broke through with her first goal as a Leopard. She was very fluid transitioning from defense to offense, laying down hard tackles in front of the defense and driving forward when needed.
La Verne goalkeeper Delanie Pacheco directed the back line well and made five saves in full 90 minutes of action.
From head coach Lauryn Pehanich:
On containing Oxy's attack: "We talked a lot about the pace they have up top. I made sure that we have hard pressure on the ball initially and have cover behind it in case that we get beat. I though we stumbled a little bit in the first half, but we covered well in the second half."
On maintaining consistency: "Results breed consistency. We've put in a lot of hard work, but it's the win that keeps us focused and motivated. There's only 30 days left in our season and I reminded them of that today."
What it means: With the win, La Verne (4-5-0, 2-3-0 SCIAC) keeps pace with the rest of the SCIAC pack. There are three teams tied at 2-3-0 in league play (La Verne, Chapman, Occidentaly) and fourth place Cal Lutheran is at 2-2-1.
Up next: La Verne will take on Redlands on the road on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Follow La Verne Athletics on Twitter @ULV_Athletics Like La Verne Athletics on Facebook Follow La Verne Athletics on Instagram @ULV_Athletics Sign up for our newsletter
