THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.– Janelle Gutierrez was brilliant in Cal Lutheran's 3-1 win over nationally ranked Trinity (Tex.), scoring twice Sunday morning at William Rolland Stadium.
"I thought we did a great job of setting the tone early," said Head Coach Frank Marino. "Obviously, scoring in the first minute is going to help your day, but we did a really good job with our movement off the ball in the first 20 minutes. We did great when finishing in the final third. I thought we did a great job defensively the whole game. Holding the team ranked second in the region to just four shots on the day is pretty impressive."
The Regals were the much better team, outshooting the opposition 11-4 on the day. CLU also held the advantage in corner kicks (4-3) and were very clinical with their chances, scoring twice inside five minutes.
Gutierrez got things started for the hosts just 55 seconds into the match, winning the ball off a defender after some excellent pressing play before blasting a left-footed shot through the hands of the goalkeeper to put her team out in front.
Cal Lutheran were determined to grab another goal and they did just that only three minutes later. Danielle Vis made a blistering run down the right wing and delivered a ball across the byline to the right foot of Alexandra Fagerberg on the back post. The junior did very well to curl her effort inside the post and double the CLU lead.
This was Fagerberg's seventh goal in her last eight games as she still leads the team with nine goals on the year.
Slightly against the run of play, the Tigers managed to pull a goal back after winning a set piece in a dangerous area. The ball would bounce around in the box for quite some time before being nodded into the back of the net by CeCe Hendricks.
A fantastic opening 45 minutes would give the Regals a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
CLU looked to restore their two-goal cushion in the second half and Gutierrez was up to the task in the 59th minute as she headed home a great free kick from Trinity Martinez to make the score 3-1 and all but seal the victory for the Regals.
Not many chances were created in the final 30 minutes of the match as the center back pairing of Katie Weaver and Zandra Stewart held strong in the defense, showing their class yet again.
Recording shots on goal for CLU were Mandy Crawford (3), Gutierrez (2) and Fagerberg.
Cal Lutheran will head to their final match of SCIAC play Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. when the team travels to Los Angeles, Calif. to take on Occidental.
Box Score: CLU 3, TU 1
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director
