PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech women's soccer team took on 2023 with patience and resilience, battling hard throughout the campaign with lots of promise for the future.

After losing five key seniors to graduation, the young program brought in nine talented first-years as they took on a schedule full of high-level opponents.

The team showed demonstrated progress throughout the season, ultimately culminating in an impressive 2-2 tie with a strong Occidental College team who tied for the fourth-most wins in the conference.

On the individual front, junior forward Jennifer Solgaard (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto) made history by breaking the program's career goals record (11) in addition to tying the single-season assists record, with three. The standout also continued the yearly streak of at least one Caltech women's soccer player collecting All-SCIAC honors; it is now five straight seasons with one or more players earning the prestigious honor. 

At the end-of-year Caltech Student-Athlete Celebration, senior defender Cami Scantlin (San Diego / Valhalla) won Sportsperson of the Year.

The season began on Sep. 1 as the Beavers posted a hard-fought, 1-1 draw in a home matchup against an impressive Linfield University squad.

Caltech limited the guests to just five shots in the first half with only one on goal, which sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Steven (Broomfield, Colo. / Peak to Peak Charter) collected for a save. The Beavers created several strong opportunities on offense in the first half but could not connect before the first half ended.

Linfield struck first in the 51st minute, though the Beavers refused to yield, finally leading to a brilliant breakout and an equalizing goal in the 79th minute as senior midfielder-forward Kathryn Thompson (Roseville, Calif. / Granite Bay) fed Solgaard for a well-delivered shot into the net.

Caltech dug in their heels and shut down Linfield's attempts until the final whistle, with junior goalkeeper Elizabeth Field (Charlottesville, Va. / Moticello) making two of her three saves in the match's last four minutes to earn the 1-1 draw.

Nine days later, the team took on the group from Lewis & Clark College at home to wrap up the Beavers' nonconference schedule.

High temperatures did not deter Caltech, who immediately went to work as the first whistle sounded. In the third minute of the match and with the Beavers holding possession, sophomore defender Kyla Cook (Oakland, Calif. / Athenian) played the ball ahead to first-year midfielder-forward Aurelia Kuester (San Diego / Canyon Crest Academy) who had positioned herself on the right wing. Pressured by a Pioneer defender near the corner flag, Kuester floated what looked to be a well-placed cross into the area, only to have it curl inward and find the netting inside the back post beyond the leaping keeper for the rookie's first collegiate goal.

The visitors tied the matchup a few minutes later before the two teams settled for a 1-1 score at halftime. The guests put two more through in the second half, though Caltech got themselves within one in the 86th minute as Solgaard broke through the midfield and fed a pass to junior midfielder Sophia Elam (Medford, Ore. / North Medford) in the six-yard box, who tapped the ball past the goal line after timing her run perfectly to stay onside.

The team showed off its defensive progress later in the season as they held the University of Redlands scoreless in a gritty and physical 0-0 draw at home in October. The Beaver backline posted an excellent performance, stealing the ball from the visiting strikers on many occasions and forcing the Bulldogs into shooting deep-range shots. Caltech created a plethora of impressive offensive surges but ultimately settled for the tie.

The Beavers finished the game with their second-most shots in a single game this season (12) and beat out the guests in corner kicks (six to two). Two Caltech goalkeepers combined for the clean sheet, with Steven starting in goal and recording four saves while first-year Haleigh Gardner (San Ramon, California HS) stopped two shots.

Three days later, the Beavers tested the No. 18 Div. III team in the nation as they took on the undefeated Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Caltech saw a superb performance from Gardner, who denied nine of ten shots on goal, including several leaping close-range saves that looked destined to find the back of the net before the rookie soared in for the stops. The Caltech backline again stepped up as they forced the Sagehen strikers into a number of poor shots that missed high or wide, though they ultimately let up the game's lone goal in the 43rd minute in an otherwise strong performance.

The Beavers saved perhaps their strongest soccer for their final game as they drew Oxy 2-2 at home on Senior Day. Caltech kicked off the scoring in the 11th minute after senior midfielder Maya Rushlow (San Francisco, Calif. / Lick-Wilmerding) took over possession from the Tigers and sent it ahead to surging junior midfielder Juni Polansky (Baltimore, Md. / Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) on the right flank, who dribbled it up before sending a cross to Solgaard. The pass was broken up, though the ball stayed in the box; Solgaard jumped on the opportunity and shot it past the goalkeeper into the net, electrifying the home fans. It was a historic score as Solgaard became the program's all-time leader in career goals scored (11).

The Beavers held onto the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the half with Gardner coming up with three massive saves to keep the Tigers scoreless.

The opponents tied the contest up at 1-1 in the 57th minute before scoring again in the 74th, though the Beavers were not dismayed. In the 85th minute, Cook sent a ball into the box, where first-year midfielder Ellie Yamada (South Pasadena, Calif. / South Pasadena) wisely passed it to first-year midfielder Louise Marie Choi-Schattle (Barrington, R.I. / Barrington) at the top of the box, who delivered a shot past the keeper into the left side of the net to tie the contest at 2-2. The Beavers played strong defense in the final minutes to keep the Oxy offense at bay before time expired.

Steven started the second half in goal; she logged four monumental saves in her 45 minutes in net. Solgaard and Choi-Schattle's goals marked their third each of the season to lead the team; Yamada picked up her first assist as a Beaver.

Solgaard wrapped the regular season with three assists to lead the team and tie the program's single-season record. The Second Team All-SCIAC winner ranked ninth in the conference in points on a per-game basis with her three goals and three assists.

Head coach Emmy Meyring expressed joy with how the team performed in its final game of the fall.

"I'm very happy with how we ended the season," said Meyring. "We came out strong and played a great 90 minutes and were able to put away two great goals. Our second goal was a combination of two freshman that gave us the tie," said Meyring. "It was a great send off for our three seniors."

The program will return most of its roster as they take on the 2024 season this fall. Stay tuned for an official schedule release this summer.

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