The Warriors were blanked 3-0 by Santa Clara and 5-0 by Leigh in recent games, leaving them with five losses in their last six games.

So winter break came at a good time for Westmont, giving the Warriors an opportunity to regroup before returning to the field Jan. 8 against Independence. It will mark Westmont's second game of the year in the rugged Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Warriors lost their league opener to Leigh, then had league battles with Leland and Santa Teresa washed away by December rains. Both games will be rescheduled in January.

Westmont head coach Josh Leupold remains optimistic, ranking his club as a potential fourth-place finisher in the division—a spot that would clinch a berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

Westmont had a rough time in its league opener against Leigh. The Longhorns took a 2-0 lead by the half, then outscored the Warriors 3-0 in the second half to clinch a lopsided 5-0 victory.

"The game was a bit closer than the final score would indicate," said Leupold. "We gave up a quick goal, but rallied about 15 minutes into the game and got several corner kicks and scoring chances in a row."

"But when Leigh scored their first penalty kick of the game, it took a bit out of us," he added. "When they got a second penalty kick a few minutes later, even though they missed it, we lost a little more focus."

The coach praised the efforts of senior defender Victoria Alexander, junior midfielder Lesvia Martinez and junior midfielder Denise Picard for their performances in the game.

"Denise created a couple dangerous opportunities from her corner and free kicks," said Leupold of Picard. "She also played strong defense and started several attacks up the right side line with long, accurate passes from deep in our half of the field."

Leupold singled out Alexander for doing "a good job of marking her players" and said that Martinez "provided a great spark off the bench."

Westmont had nine saves in the game, compared to just four for Leigh, as the Longhorns outshot the Warriors.

"Our girls put forth a good effort, but it was not enough and the score snowballed some in the second half," said the coach. "I was pleased that as the game got more intense, the girls kept playing clean, physical soccer."

A few days earlier, Westmont dropped a 3-0 non-league decision to Santa Clara.

"Santa Clara was the fastest, most technically skilled team we have played this year," said Leupold. "They also play a physical style. Given that we were missing two of our starting midfielders, the team did a great job handling the constant Santa Clara pressure."

Junior goalkeeper Danielle Silva kept the Warriors in the game with eight saves in the first half, including two on breakaways. She moved to the midfield for the second half, with Nicole Harmer taking over in the net.

Junior defender Karri Iyama and senior midfielder Lauren Luque were also singled out for their efforts by the coach.

"Karri played her strongest game of the year at stopper," he said. "She did a good job defending the speedy, skilled Santa Clara players."

"And Lauren worked hard for 75 minutes in the center midfield, marking Santa Clara's gifted midfielder," added Leupold.