Women rebound with 3-0 victory
Campus Times
October 29, 1999
The chances for the University of La Verne women's soccer team to win
the conference title went away like ashes blown in the wind.
The Leopards are about to wrap up a season that presented obstacles
that ultimately prevented the team from accomplishing two of its goals,
which were to win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SCIAC) and to overcome archrival Cal Lutheran.
Injuries played an important role in the team's opportunities for succeeding.
"It was kind of a roller coaster ride and our biggest enemies were
injuries," said head coach Wendy Zwissler.
Perhaps the biggest was the one suffered by sophomore goalkeeper Kim
Schrepfer. She had a season-ending injury when she tore her left knee's
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the league opener against Whittier.
Schrepfer's absence was deeply felt, forcing sophomore Heather Cooper
to move from being a field player to becoming the team's goalkeeper for
most of the season.
Sophomore Maria DeSantis joined the team to play goalie. The problem
is that she had never played soccer before. Her experience was restricted
to water polo.
But Schrepfer's injury was not the only one the team lamented throughout
this season. Pulled muscles, sprained ankles, and a variety of maladies
made the team look like a rolling hospital.
In addition to injuries, the limited number of players available made
the Leopards' hill harder to climb.
"This has been a very frustrating season because of the injuries,"
said sophomore Erica Borbon. "When you have no subs it is harder to
overcome."
Despite all that, the Leopards were tied for first place halfway into
league competition.
However, Zwissler's pupils could not handle it anymore and the glass
broke in a non-conference match against Chapman University, beginning a
four-match losing streak, leaving their championship hopes behind.
Losses to conference rivals Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Redlands followed
the Chapman downfall.
Then on Saturday the team made the long trip to Thousand Oaks to visit
the reigning SCIAC-champion Cal Lu Regals for a match the Leopards will
not forget anytime soon.
Cal Lu held a 4-0 halftime lead on its way to a 7-0 win. DeSantis accumulated
eight saves, but allowed six of the Regals' goals.
It was the Leopards' second loss to Cal Lutheran this season.
"Last Saturday was like a rebuilding more than anything else. We've
been struggling through all the injuries and our girls just didn't think
they had the potential to beat anybody," said assistant coach Danielle
Watson.
"We didn't play that bad," said Borbon, a midfielder. "I
think after three goals, we said 'OK it's over,' we just didn't have confidence.
"It was embarrassing and upsetting."
Cal Lu took the victory to clinch at least a tie for the conference
crown, needing only another triumph in the remaining two games to earn its
ninth outright championship.
"They've inspired me to make this team better by the way they behave,"
said Zwissler of the Regals' team. "They were inspiration to all of
us and a motivation factor to come back next year and kick their [rear end]."
La Verne returned to Ben Hines field for its final home match Tuesday
afternoon.
Displaying good soccer throughout the entire match, the Leopards came
out victorious defeating visiting Pomona-Pitzer 3-0.
La Verne imposed its game right from the beginning, not giving the opponent
any chance. A combination by junior defender Cara Forrest and freshman forward
Adriana Ramirez ended up being the first goal of the match less than seven
minutes in.
Ramirez's goal was backed up by an unassisted score by sophomore midfielder
Giselle Ortega four minutes later.
The Leopards continued to create offensive plays, opening the field
and constantly feeding the forwards who kept testing Pomona's goalkeeper.
Five minutes before the end of the first half, junior forward Rachel
Lieberman added another goal to the Leopards' effort.
Despite dominating the match and keeping possession for most of the
time, the Leopards could not increase their lead in the second half of the
match.
The post denied Ramirez of scoring again with 10 minutes left to play
and on the next possession Borbon's shot, aimed at the far post, passed
inches wide of the Sagehens' goal.
At the end, the Leopards were optimistic of finishing up the season
with a winning momentum which they hope to carry into the next year.
"I think we played really well, extremely well. We were ready to
play, we had our passes going and the girls worked really hard," said
Zwissler.
The Leopards play their season finale this afternoon, at 4 p.m. against
Occidental in Eagle Rock. That is a match La Verne will play to win.
"[We want to] finish up the season in a positive note," said
Zwissler.
"It's important to win because of pride," Borbon said. "We
have to redeem ourselves."
In the meantime, Zwissler starts thinking about next season.
"We are a young team," she said. "We'll be back, but
first, we have to beat Oxy."