THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Tatiana Raygoza equalized for the University of La Verne women's soccer team in the 78th minute but Cal Lutheran managed to find a winner with just three minutes left in the game to beat the Leopards, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Rolland Stadium.
La Verne slips to 5-4-2 overall and 3-3-1 in the SCIAC. Cal Lutheran improves to 4-6-1 and 3-3-1.
The Leopards broke through with a well-executed goal. Lauren Toneck lobbed a pass towards the top of the penalty box and Ari Dowell laid off a perfect headed ball that split two Cal Lutheran center backs to Raygoza, who chipped it over Stacy Choate-Ciletti into the upper left corner with her left foot.
Both teams ramped up the pressure in search of the winner. Amaris Sherlock missed a header wide and Cambria Smith forced a save from Choate-Ciletti for La Verne. Jasmine Valadez made a highlight save in the 83rd minute when she used all of her 5-foot-5 frame to stretch out and turn away a line drive shot by Emily Williams.
But it was the Regals who got the best opportunity when it earned a free kick just outside of the penalty box in the 87th minute. The Regals pounced on the chance as Olivia Leyva rattled the bottom of the crossbar off the free kick and Kali Youngdahl leaped for headed goal on the rebound from point blank range.
Raquel Weckhurst opened the scoring in the 20th minute with on a breakaway opportunity.
Aside from the two goals that would've been hard saves for anyone, Valadez was stellar in net as the freshman jumped and dove all over the place for a career-high 10 saves.
The Leopards return to action on Saturday at Occidental. The kickoff is at 7 p.m.
