Women's Soccer wins SCIAC opener, remains undefeated

Women's Soccer wins SCIAC opener, remains undefeated

LA VERNE, Calif.  — Lauran Redding hit an incredible shot to give the Leopards a 2-1 lead midway through the second half, and the University of La Verne women's soccer held on the rest of the way, beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in their SCIAC opener Wednesday night at Ortmayer Stadium.

In the 76th minute with the game tied 1-1, Redding won a ball near the sideline with space to play. The senior looked up and launched a towering shot to the far side of the net, giving the Leopards the lead for good.

"I saw the run down the side of the field, so I was just going to go for it," said Redding. "I shot it and saw that the back post was open and I just went for it and ended up making it. The feeling was undescribable. It was awesome."

Season Impact: The Leopards remain undefeated, improving to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in SCIAC play. La Verne is off to its best start since 2012 when they began the season 3-1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps drops to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

The Leopards and Athenas battled in the first half with both teams' defenses limiting quality shots throughout the period. Both teams managed only two shots on goal in the half and went into the break tied 0-0.

La Verne got onto the board in the 66th minute when Jessica Hernandez filtered a pass to the right side of the box to Juna Bouchekara. The junior laid down a hard shot to give the Leopards the opening lead. 

Eight minutes later Aarthi Namasivayam scored the equalizer for the Athenas. The Leopards, who have two overtime wins under their belt already this season, made sure to end the game in regulation, setting up Redding's game-winning shot.

Next Game: The Leopards hit the road for their first official away game of the season this Saturday, September 16 when they head to Eagle Rock to play the Occidental College Tigers at 11 a.m.