THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.– Seniors Maddy Griess and Zandra Stewart have been nothing short of brilliant in their four years at Cal Lutheran, and they put their brilliance on display yet again, leading the Regals to a convincing 4-0 win over Redlands on Senior Night.
Prior to kickoff, both Griess and Stewart were honored for their hard work and dedication to the women's soccer program.
"This senior class has just been tremendous," said Head Coach Frank Marino. "You talk about Zandra's accolades not only on the field, but in the classroom as well…it's phenomenal what she has accomplished. Every year, Maddy has grown as a player and has always been a consistent starter for us. She brings us the long throw-in and is a tremendous leader amongst our team. I couldn't be happier to get a win for them tonight."
The Regals were absolutely dominant from the kickoff until the final whistle was blown, tallying 21 shots on the night, tying a season-high, while holding the opposition to just six shots.
CLU started on the front foot, scoring the opening goal in the 10th minute through Alexandra Fagerberg. After some solid hold-up play from Mandy Crawford, the freshman slipped a ball through towards the sprinting winger. The Redlands' goalkeeper and defender seemed to have the situation under control, but a miscommunication left Fagerberg free on goal and the junior slotted the ball into an open net to give her team an early 1-0 advantage.
For the remainder of the half, the hosts were able to create a multitude of scoring chances after the opener, creating space for their attacking players with ease, but the Regals could not provide the finishing touch and the score would remain 1-0 after the first 45 minutes.
The Bulldogs did well to create a few decent opportunities in the second half, but could not manage more than a half chance and never truly tested Alexa Soto in goal.
Soto, however, made one fantastic save in the match, leaping to tap Skyla Wilson's attempt over the crossbar and preserve the one-goal lead.
Finally getting forward to extend the Cal Lutheran lead was Trinity Martinez in the 79th minute. Fagerberg made an excellent move to cut inside and find Martinez in a dangerous area on the right side of the box. The right back's finish was sublime, hitting a first-time shot with her left foot to find the side netting and double the Regals' lead, giving her team some much-needed breathing room in the match. This was the first goal of the season for Martinez.
Only a minute later, CLU put the game away when Fagerberg scored her second goal of the match. Some nifty dribbling from the junior allowed her to maneuver past three Redlands defenders and eventually free up space for a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner to seal the win and the three points.
Mackenzie Boulware added one more goal for good measure in the 84th minute, also scoring her first goal of the season when her header was lobbed over the goalkeeper's head to clinch the 4-0 score line.
"I thought we came out really strong and played really well for the first 25 minutes of the game," Marino said. "We created a lot of chances but we didn't do a great job of finishing our chances. Second half, we continued to create chances but we did a much better job of finishing those chances. The biggest thing for us is getting back into the conference tournament. It's significant because it gives us a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament and that's all you can ask for every season you play."
Fagerberg netted her seventh and eighth goals of the season in the match, while also recording an assist. The Austin, Texas native leads the team in goals (8) and points (20) as she continues her excellent goal-scoring form.
The defensive backline, once again, showed their class as they earned their seventh clean sheet of the year. Katie Weaver, Aly Legrand, Stewart and Martinez were great on the backline, communicating well and handling any forward movement from the Bulldogs with ease.
Recording shots on goal for CLU were Danielle Vis, Sam Cornejo, Isabella Veljacic, Fagerberg (3), Boulware, Crawford and Martinez.
With the win tonight, the Regals have clinched a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
Cal Lutheran will play one last non-conference match when they host Trinity (Tex.) Oct. 27 at 11 a.m. inside William Rolland Stadium.
Box Score: CLU 4, UR 0
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director
