Women's Soccer Suffers Losses to Oxy, La Verne
By Ezekiel Pfeifer
Sports Associate

The Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer squad suffered a 2-0 loss to visiting La Verne and took its ten game losing streak further with loss number eleven on Saturday, in a hard-fought 2-1 match against Occidental, which went into double overtime. The season has been tough for the Sagehens, with a 1-13-1 overall record and a winless conference record.

Nevertheless, the team realizes it must keep things in perspective, as head coach Jennifer Scanlon expressed after Saturday’s game, saying, “From the beginning, this season has been about developing the standards that are part of being a competitive college soccer program, so that is what we continue to do. Although it can be difficult to not look at the wins and losses, out main focus is how we are performing in our games. We have had good stretches of play in the majority of our games, but we need to improve our consistency.”

La Verne scored early in the home game on Wednesday, making it difficult for the Sagehens to recover and retake control of the game. P-P played an excellent second half, but when La Verne scored again, the Hens’ chances of winning diminished, and it seemed that the game could have gone to either team.

Saturday’s loss was even more dramatic. P-P lost a long and highly-contested match against visiting Occidental, 2-1, in double overtime. The Sagehens got on the scoreboard first, with Sarah Staller ’04 scoring in the first half to put P-P on top. The score was 1-0, Hens going into halftime, but Oxy soon tied the game with a goal in the second half. Regulation ended 1-1, resulting in overtime. The first overtime brought close calls, but without any definitive result; thus the game continued. In double overtime, Oxy finally put the game away, making it a 2-1 loss for P-P.

Saturday’s game was close the whole time and well-contested from both teams. As Scanlon said, “The game against Occidental was a great game that went back and forth. We battled hard and had some chances, but they found the back of the net first in the overtime period.”

The abundance of ash due to local area fires made the game difficult for many of the players. Staller struggled through the soot to score the only Sagehen goal, but was weary throughout.

“The ash made it difficult to breathe, and a lot of us had weird chest pains,” said Staller, after the game. “I felt like a chain smoker trying to run a marathon. All of us, including Occidental, got tired more quickly than usual. All day after the game I was feeling a little light-headed.”

The ash was considered to be a very serious issue by the schools; they considered even not playing the game due to the extreme conditions for the players’ breathing.

“Many people were involved in the decision to play the game on Saturday,” said Scanlon. “The athletic director, our head trainer, both coaches and the officials all felt that the conditions did not warrant postponing the game. The conditions and the players were monitored closely throughout the game.”

The conditions were not only monitored throughout the game, but were even discussed by those involved in making the possible postponement decision. The referees and athletic trainers met several times before and during the game to decide whether or not the game should go on as scheduled.

The loss to Oxy was the last home match of the season for the Sagehens, making it a special moment for the seniors of the P-P team.

“Being a senior makes every little action significant, because we know that we are passing so many milestones this year,” reflected Staller. “Saturday was my last game on my favorite field in the world, and there was such a combination of overwhelming emotions that went into it. Knowing that my soccer career at this level is coming to a close, I am thankful for every day that I still get to play.