LOS ANGELES — The University of La Verne women's soccer team won a critical 3-1 match against Occidental College on Saturday afternoon to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Patricia Acoba scored minutes into the game, and
Natalie Kooba put the Leopards up for good later in the half before
Megan Sewell added an insurance goal in the second half.
The Leopards move to sixth place in the SCIAC standings, one point behind Occidental. The top five teams advance to the SCIAC Tournament. La Verne has games against Pomona-Pitzer, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and Caltech remaining.
The Leopards got to work quickly, with Acoba scoring her first goal of the season just over two minutes into the action. La Verne set up for a corner kick, and Acoba tapped in the loose ball to put La Verne up.
But the Tigers' Bella Calemine responded just two minutes later to tie the score 1-1.
Near the 27-minute mark, the Tigers were issued a red card. The Leopards took advantage of the extra player and took the lead for good a minute later. La Verne crossed a long ball into the box that the Tigers initially got a touch on, but Kooba powered in the deflection to put La Verne back up 2-1.
In the 76th minute, the Leopards again capitalized off a set piece.
Lex Sahagian set up for a corner kick and sailed a pass into the box. Sewell leapt and headed in her team-leading fourth goal to extend the Leopards' lead, 3-1.
The Leopards held off the Tigers' seven second-half shots.
Sophia Penaflor finished with five saves.
The Leopards move to 5-8-1 overall and will face off at Pomona-Pitzer Wednesday, October 21st at 4 p.m.
