Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer broke a four game losing streak with two much-needed wins against Cornell College (Iowa) and Occidental last week.

A Wednesday match-up against the visiting Cornell Rams proved to be a nail-biter to the end. With the score tied at zero late in the second half, Cora Fornsten ’04 drew her second yellow card of the game and was ejected. Fornsten’s first yellow card resulted earlier from a vicious foul in the midfield. The Hens, playing one woman down, pulled out the win when Sarah Staller ’04 scored the only goal of the game. "At first, Cornell definitely had the edge," said Coach Eli Koenn-Bollinger, "but we really dug down deep and found the desire."

On the following Saturday, the Hens soundly defeated Oxy, 3-1, playing in a mid-day heat that reached 100 degrees. P-P was forced to juggle its lineup with midfielder Torrey Shelton ’02 sidelined by an ankle injury and Fornsten suspended for her ejection against Cornell. Even without two of their strongest midfielders, the Hens dominated offensively, out-shooting the Tigers 26 to 11.

Lauren Salvail ’03 put Pomona-Pitzer on the scoreboard twelve minutes into the game with a beautiful shot off a pass by Jessica Ichien ’04. In the 52nd minute, Susan Houge ’02 read a misplay by the Oxy goalkeeper and fired a long shot into the back of the net for her first goal of the season. The Tigers countered with a goal of their own not ten minutes later, sending a lob over the head of P-P goalie Alison Mathes ’05.

Aliza Norwood ’05, clearly discouraged after struggling to get a shot off only minutes earlier, retrieved a pass from Salvail in the 85th and hammered in P-P’s third and final goal. "It was a very pretty shot," commented Koenn-Bollinger. "She was frustrated, but I yelled at her to keep fighting, and she did."

Contributing in the backfield were Rebecca Lipeles ’05 and Taylor Matheson ’02. Izzy Smith ’05 came off the bench to play solid defense and Jo Kirsch ’02 was finally back to form after an ankle injury. "It’s definitely nice to have her back in the mix," acknowledged Koenn-Bollinger.

Occidental, though a better team than in previous years, has always been an easy win for the Hens.

"They were stronger than in the past, but we knew they were beatable," asserted Koen-Bollinger.

The focus on Saturday was to avoid playing down to their level. "We need to work on setting the pace of the game," said Kirsch. "It’s easy to play down and play sloppy. We dominated but we could have played at a higher level."

With two wins fresh under their belt, the Hens are looking towards the beginning of second round SCIAC play. They face La Verne, a team that beat the Hens 3-1 in the first round, on Saturday in a home game.

"No one likes to lose," Kirsch commented. "But we all know we can win. We know we can do it."

Added Matheson, "These past two wins are proof of the potential we know we have. They give us a new sense of confidence."

On Wednesday, October 3, the Hens traveled to take on the Whittier Poets and emerged with a 2-1 overtime victory.

Forward Sarah Staller ’04 netted the first goal, and midfielder Aliza Norwood ’05 scored after an attempted free kick to come away with the win.

The Hens currently stand 2-4 in SCIAC and 5-6 overall, but the team is generally unfazed by their losing record.

Said Shelton, "I think we expect a lot from the second round [of the SCIAC schedule]."