By Drew Perraut
Sports Writer

On Saturday the 14th, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer team faced off against visiting Simpson College and lost a bitterly contested game 2-1. Simpson, led by Head Coach Aziz Haffar, traveled from Indianola, Iowa for the match. The teams were evenly matched and for much of the first half, no goals were scored. After a P-P kick narrowly missed putting the Sagehens in the lead, Simpson countered with the first goal. Yet the Sagehens quickly retaliated, and only minutes later, P-P’s Anna Renery ’06 scored off a corner kick, tying the game. Both teams pushed hard for the remainder of the half, each missing barely on would-be go ahead goals. At the whistle, the score remained tied at 1-1.
When the second-half commenced, both teams took to the field with renewed vigor. In a discouraging turn of events for the Sagehens, Simpson pressed forward and scored only a few minutes into the second half. For the remainder of the afternoon, P-P had a difficult time advancing the ball into Simpson’s half and continued to play a primarily defensive game. Though they were not able to even the score, the Sagehens played strongly to the end. Simpson’s constantly advancing offense was shut down by P-P’s strong defensive play, and the game ended 2-1 in Simpson’s favor.
P-P’s season is off to a slow sart, but the players and coaches remain very optimistic about the remainder of the season. Though the women Hens have only won one game against four losses, none of the games have been against SCIAC opponents.
Head Coach Eli Koenn-Bollinger emphasized that the Sagehens are a “young team” this season, but that they are developing quickly. This comment was echoed by several players who said that “with all the new players it takes a little more time. We need to play together and learn from each other, Right now our biggest issue is confidence.”
This is a building year for the Sagehens, because nearly half of the players are freshmen and sophomores. Despite Saturday’s loss, Koenn-Bollinger says that she “felt better about this game than games in the past. We really increased our defensive play today.” When asked where the team needed improvement, she replied, “Our biggest problem is just getting the ball into the net. We need to take the opportunity and score.”
Sarah Staller ’04, who assisted Renery in her goal, said the game was a victory in that “We played with a lot more confidence. We’re working together and progressing very quickly as a team.”
Finishing up the preseason, P-P has little time left to learn learn how to work together as a team. They will play Whittier on September 21, which will be P-P’s first SCIAC game and the most important test of the season to date.
Saturday the Sagehens will face Whittier College at home at 11:00 am. What are the Sagehens’ prospects for the rest of the season? Coach Koenn-Bollinger responds, “We hope to dominate in conference. Last year we came in sixth place. This year I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”