Women's Soccer finishes 2019 with strong showing

Despite a 2-0 loss to Westcliff University (9-1-1) it was the first time in the Cal Maritime Women's Soccer program's history that the Keelhaulers kept an opponent to just two goals, and the two-goal margin was the smallest they had lost by in the program's two seasons of existence.

Women's Soccer celebrated senior day over this past Saturday but had one more make-up game to complete in order to wrap up the 2019 season.

"The fire on the Maritime campus put a lot of pressure in finishing out four games in seven days without being able to practice in between," Head Coach Emily Scheese said. "It was rough at first against conference co-champion UAV, but we powered on and gained confidence from scoring two goals by two different players versus Merced (senior Nathalie Calderon) and Simpson (junior Capri Valdez)."

The October 30 game against Westcliff University (9-1-1) was rescheduled for Wednesday night and it gave the Keelhaulers a chance to have a full squad available for the finale.

Having the numbers to substitute and apply pressure made a huge difference for Cal Maritime on the night. Freshman goalie Maddy Dack was her usual sensational self and got some help defensively.

Maritime trailed just 1-0 after the first half where they were very defensive minded, but in the second half looked to stretch the field and generate some offense with about 25 minutes to go.

"We came out very organized defensively and really implemented concepts of high pressure on the ball in the midfield, in the middle third, and centerbacks helping our outside backs when isolated one on one." Scheese said. "This made for some of the best defensive work ever by the team in front of the usual spectacular effort by Maddy in goal."

Valdez and freshman Caitlin Gibson found themselves on the receiving end of passes from junior Jackie Garcia that led to opportunities for the Keelhaulers to push upfield and generate some shots.

The best opportunity came when Gibson fired a strike from just over 30 yards out that caught the keeper off guard and too far out of her net but zipped just a couple feet over the goal. Maritime had gained momentum and the feeling began to build at Bodnar Field that the Keelhaulers could tie the game.

But with just over 17 minutes remaining the Warriors would put a shot into the back of the net after a fantastic crossing pass to seal the victory for Westcliff. The Warriors were no slouch as their record would indicate. They had defeated Cal Pac members Ben-U and Providence Christian and tied La Sierra. They had also defeated GSAC member William Jessup.

Dack racked up another 14 saves on the night to add to her already nation-leading total which now stands at 274.

"I couldn't be prouder of our team to see how they worked together to implement what we've learned," Scheese said. "It makes me excited to see how this young team can grow with more time and experience. And I believed they enjoyed themselves in the team effort with 17 available players tonight!"