LA VERNE, Calif. — A goal from senior JJ Weaver in the 53^rd minute carried the University of La Verne women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over UC Santa Cruz on Saturday evening at Ortmayer Stadium.

How it happened: Weaver got a lofted through ball at the top of the penalty box, trapped it perfectly and launched a screamer into the upper right corner for what turned out to be the game winner.

The game had been a back-and-forth affair up until the goal. The Banana Slugs came out of the gates quickly, taking the game's first four shots, but the Leopards settled quickly and played better as the game went along.

After only taking two shots in the first half, the Leopards dominated the shot count in the second half, launching seven compared to UCSC's two. The Leopards were also more efficient in shot selection, putting seven of its nine shots on goal while the Banana Slugs only put two on target.

Near equalizer: The Banana Slugs almost got the equalizer in the 85^th minute when Taylor Keenan lofted one past Delanie Pacheco from the right side. But luckily for La Verne, the shot glanced off the far post.

Player of the game: Weaver hit the target on all three of her shots. She held up the play well and was aggressive when she had an opening.

Natalie Vasquez and Lauren Toneck were solid in the middle of the defense. They were physical, made good tackles and cleared every attempt.

From head coach Lauryn Pehanich:

On key to the win: "For me, it was the consistency. We've had moments of brilliance in games so far, but they've just been moments. The question I asked of them today was, 'how long can we be good for?' The more time that we are good, the more difficult it is going to be for teams to beat us."

On the team's mindset heading into SCIAC: "Everyone's excited. Everybody's on the same page. We just had a good conversation about how the preseason is preparation for SCIAC. We feel like we went through some ups and downs and we are going to go through the same in conference. It is how we respond to those ups and downs is what's going to make a difference."

What it means: La Verne (2-2) wraps up non-conference play with a big win against a UC Santa Cruz team that beat Chapman and Whittier, 3-1 and 4-2, respectively. The Leopards will be confident heading into SCIAC play.

Up next: La Verne takes a short trip to Pomona-Pitzer on Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. to begin conference play.