LA VERNE, Calif. — The University of La Verne women's soccer team played evenly with Whittier for 90 minutes but Madison Shipherd's free kick goal just over a minute overtime gave the Poets a 1-0 win over the Leopards on Saturday night at Ortmayer Stadium.
Shipherd had the ball in a dangerous area just outside the top of the box and the Leopards had no choice but to foul. Shipherd went to take the kick herself and put it away into the top right corner from about 20 yards to give the win to the Poets.
La Verne falls to 3-2-1 overall and 1-1-0 in SCIAC play. Whittier stays undefeated at 5-0-0 and 2-0-0.
Neither team was able to create truly dangerous chances in regulation. Whittier dominated the shot count in the first half, 7-2, but nothing threatened La Verne goalkeeper Jasmine Valadez.
The Leopards came alive in the second half, with Kelsea Varner and Julia Gomez active on the right side. Varner and Gomez got past Whittier left backs time and time again and got a couple of good crosses in, but the Leopards just weren't able to find that final touch.
Alexa Smith and Maribel Duran had perhaps the best shots for La Verne. In the 55th minute, Smith cut in from the left wing and fired a shot from just outside the box, but it sailed just high. In the 65th, Duran found a loose ball off a Varner cross but rushed the shot high.
Amanda Nalbandian had a team high three shots off the bench and forced Whittier goalkeeper Alexi Cruz to make two saves.
Valadez turned away a total of seven shots.
The Leopards return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
