California Baptist women’s soccer team falls short in WAC Tournament semifinals – Press Enterprise

RIVERSIDE — By the time the California Baptist University women’s soccer team got into the attack, it was too little and too late.

Sonja Lux scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute, but it wasn’t enough as the Lancers’ season came to an end in a 2-1 loss to Seattle University on Wednesday night in the semifinal round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at CBU Soccer Stadium.

“You play for the excitement and the glory but also the heartbreak,” CBU head coach Kristen St. Clair said. “That’s the hardest part.”

CBU (11-2-6 overall, 6-0-3 WAC) was unbeaten in its previous 14 matches and had not lost a game at home all season.

“I feel heartbroken for our seniors,” said St. Clair, the WAC coach of the year. “We had a great group with great leadership and we just came up a little bit short.”

The Lancers shut out Seattle University 1-0 during the regular season, but a corner kick in the 35th minute led to the Redhawks’ Kait Raffensperger knocking in the opening goal off a pass from Nina Prusa.

Unforced passing errors put CBU under pressure in the first half, and WAC goalkeeper of the year Noa Schumaker was forced to make two crucial saves in the first half.

“I think we could’ve been a little bit sharper in the first half, but credit Seattle for their organization and for finishing their shots,” St. Clair said.

Michelle Slater grabbed the second goal for Seattle (10-8-2, 6-2-1), which advances to play Grand Canyon in the WAC tournament championship game at CBU Soccer Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“This group is resilient – we were 0-2 to start conference play – so to be here is something to be proud of,” Seattle coach Julie Woodward said.

Turning away from a defender but more than 20 yards from goal, Slater took control of a quick throw-in before whipping a left-footed missile into the upper corner and out of the reach of Schumaker for a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

“We tried to keep the pressure up because CBU has so many good attacking players that we wanted to keep the ball in front of us and away from them,” Woodward said.

CBU attackers were more active over the final 45 minutes, but the final product was missing until Lourdes Bosch chipped a ball into the penalty area and Frida Murrieta drew a pushing foul.

Lux smashed the penalty kick into the back of the net to give the Lancers hope, but Seattle defenders averted danger before winning the ball in the final 30 seconds and playing it into the corner as time expired.

“We had a game plan but it just wasn’t our night,” St. Clair said. “We were running at them in the second half but the game can be cruel.”

CBU outshot Seattle 17-3 in the second half and 24-9 overall. Redhawks goalkeeper Kassidy Kirgan finished with nine saves.