Senior forward Reese Davidson scored her first collegiate hat trick as #8 Westmont Women’s Soccer (3-0) posted an 8-1 win over the Oaklanders of Lincoln (0-3) Thursday night on the Thorrington pitch.
“That is a day that every forward celebrates,” noted Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard. “Scoring a hat trick is a big deal.”
The eight tallies is the most Westmont has recorded since September 24, 2016 when they posted 10 against San Diego Christian. It is just the 10th time in team history that Westmont has scored eight goals or more. The Warriors outshot the Oaklanders 44-8 – the third highest shot total in program history – placing half their shots on goal.
The game’s scoring opened when Karly Kingsley notched her first goal of the season in the 15th minute. Sadie Hill made a run down the right touch line and received a pass from Amelia Villa who was in the middle of the field. From just beyond the left side of the 18-yard box, Hill passed the ball along the ground to Kinsley who was in the left-hand top corner of the six-yard box. With her back to the goal, Kingsley tapped it to her left, turned and fired it past the Oaklanders’ keeper.
“Karly is so sneaky,” expressed Jaggard. “The touch she took to create that shot was exceptional. She was able to turn under pressure and put it into the pocket when there are so many bodies in there. You could see her intentionality. She was able to turn, assess and then put it in.”
Just three minutes later, the Warriors struck again courtesy of Davidson’s first goal. Just outside the 18, Davidson was tripped up by a defender and a foul was called. Davidson set up for the foul shot from 22 yards away.
“Reese demonstrated an intelligent decision (on the free kick),” noted Jaggard. “She recognized they were not ready, shot it and kept it on frame.”
In the 32nd minute, Monica Pizano scored Westmont’s final goal of the first half and her first in a Warrior uniform. From midfield, Villa sent a ball forward that Pizano chased down. At 21-yards out, the transfer from Santa Barbara City College tapped the ball forward, then took four more steps before slotting a shot across the goal into the left-side netting.”
“I was very excited about Monica’s finish today,” said Jaggard. “I thought that was a quality goal and good decision under pressure.”
The Warriors wasted no time in the second half, doubling their goal total in the first 13 minutes. Davidson headed in a throw-in from Elise Hyde in the 50th minute to make it a 4-0 game. Davidson set up in front of the goal, and flicked on Hyde’s overhead pass into the far-side netting.
“Reese recognized Elise Hyde’s ridiculously-long throw and no one else was sitting in the right spot,” described Jaggard. “She organized that and put herself in a good spot to finish off that header.”
Davidson struck again less than four minutes later. Kingsley sent a pass to Annalise Romero who tapped it forward into the 18-yard box. Davidson ran it down as the keeper came out of her goal. Davidson’s shot along the ground snuck past the keeper and rolled into the back netting.
In the 70th minute, Lincoln notched their first goal of the season on a shot by Camill Wilson. She tapped a ball forward to a teammate who sent it back to her on the right side. Wilson ran on the ball and used one touch to send a 27-yard shot just under the crossbar and just over Westmont keeper Maya Pablos’ outstretched hand.
In the final 10 minutes, Westmont scored twice more. Villa scored in the 87th minute to make the score 7-1, recording her first collegiate goal. Dribbling down the spine of the field, Villa passed it to Sierra Martin who tapped it back on a give-and-go play. Villa nudged it forward, then took five steps before sending a left-footed shot into the right-hand crease.
In the 89th minute, Ainsley Martin stripped a defender of the ball at midfield, turned and dribbled toward the goal. Martin then sent the ball into the box, where it was picked up by Katie DeMillo on the run. The Oaklanders’ keeper came out of the box and slid toward the ball as DeMillo attempted a shot. The ball bounced past the keeper as DeMillo leapt and hurdled her. With an empty net in front of her, DeMillo guided the ball into the goal for the final score.
“It was good to see DeMillo creating some disturbances,” shared Jaggard. “She obviously got the goal, but she did a couple of things to show she is a dangerous player.”
Also of note in today’s game was the return of Olivia Gabelein, playing in her first game since tearing her ACL nearly a year ago. The red-shirt freshman tallied 26 minutes, logging time in both the first and second halves.
Westmont will be on the road for its next game, traveling to UC Merced for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College.
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