PASADENA, Calif. (Sep 5-6, 2022) – After having to abandon their season opener in the first half due to the recent extreme heat wave earlier in the week, the Caltech women's soccer team was able to open their season with a successful weekend.   

On Friday morning, the Beavers played Lewis & Clark, tying the Pioneers in a scoreless game.  Senior goalkeeper Eve Fine (Locust Valley, N.Y. / Friends Academy) had three saves in 65 minutes, while freshman goalkeeper Sophia Steven (Broomfield, Colo. / Peak to Peak Charter) had one save in 25 minutes of action.  The Beavers had a total of six shots, with freshman Meher Banick (Foster City, Calif. / Aragon) taking a third of those shots.  Due to strong defense from both teams, the match remained scoreless for the full 90 minutes as the Beavers opened their season with a draw.  

On Saturday morning, the team hosted Park University (Ariz.), where the Beavers used their momentum from Friday's match to claim a 1-0 victory over the Buccaneers.  Junior Meg Robertson (Nashville, Tenn. / Harpeth Hall) started in goal and made two saves in the first half.  Steven and the stout Caltech defense in front of her, didn't allow a single shot on goal in the second 45 minutes.  Offensively, sophomore Juni Polansky (Baltimore, Md. / Baltimore Polytechnic) led the Beavers in shots, taking three shots.  Offensively, the Caltech attack produced a total of seven shots, with three of those being on frame.  The defense held the Buccaneers to a total of four shots, with only two of those being on goal as the Beavers earned the shutout.  

The winner came at minute 16 in the first half when senior Jackie Wang (Winter Park, Fla. / Trinity Prep) took a corner kick that sophomore Jennifer Solgaard (Palo Alto, Calif. / Hometead) got on the other end of and headed it into the goal, giving the Beavers the lead, and the only tally they would need on the day. 

Speaking about this weekend's matches, and the early part of the season, Head Coach Jen Clark noted,"I think the team has been incredible as they've bought into some new ideas and a new style of playing.  Some work and strategy that we've introduced is a little bit different and they've been really embracing those things.  We're just trying for incremental growth.  They've been really great at just trying to get a little bit better each day that they come out to practice and games." 

The Beavers are on the road this week, traveling to Boston, playing two matches, first against Wentworth Institute of Technology on Thursday at 4:00 PM PDT.  The Beavers second game of the road trip takes place against UMass Boston on Saturday, September 10 at 10:00 AM PDT. 

To follow the games this week or the team all year long, please visit www.gocaltech.com for live stream, stats and results.