2008 Season Review

Longtime Point Loma Nazarene men’s soccer coach, Tim Hall, took over the reins of the women’s program as well in 2008. There were a few bugs to work out as far as game scheduling and practice times that forced Hall to delegate assignments to his assistants, but the transition was fairly smooth.

The NAIA preseason poll did not have the Sea Lions ranked in the top-25 despite their strong showing a season a year before. Point Loma Nazarene kicked off 2009 with a three matches played at Olivet Nazarene. The Green and Gold won all three contests, allowing just one total goal.

A trend became clear early on though - low scoring games.  It was a good news-bad news trend that lasted from the start of the season until the last match of the year. The good news was that Point Loma’s defense played stellar for nearly every minute of 2008. The Sea Lions never yielded more than three scores in any game, shut out nine opponents and allowed a meager 0.71 goals per game.

The bad news was an offense that scuffled throughout the entire campaign.  A goal here or there would have made a big difference in the team’s record and fortunes. Point Loma Nazarene never managed more than two goals in any match, was blanked on eight occasions and posted just 0.81 goals per game.

Even so, after a 3-0 loss to Cal Poly Pomona, the Sea Lions ripped off four consecutive one-goal, non-conference victories, including two versus ranked opponents. Sitting at 6-1, PLNU climbed to season-best No. 12 in the rankings.

The Sea Lions took a hit with a loss at Fresno Pacific, the opening tilt of GSAC competition.  A win against Biola evened Point Loma’s conference mark and two back-to-back double-overtime ties versus Vanguard and Westmont followed.

No. 6-ranked California Baptist then dealt the Sea Lions a 2-0 setback. Days later it was Hope International leaving Loma with a 1-0 triumph. That loss dropped the Sea Lions to 1-3-2 in conference play and right out of the national rankings.

Point Loma Nazarene got back on the winning track with a tight 1-0 victory at San Diego Christian but the Sea Lions were beaten 3-0 at Azusa Pacific. A tie with Concordia and a 2-0 win against The Master’s wrapped up the regular season.

Sitting in a tie for seventh place alongside Fresno Pacific, PLNU was given the eight seed in the GSAC postseason tournament due to their loss to FPU earlier in the year. That meant a trip to No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific, a team that beat the Sea Lions convincingly just two weeks earlier.

PLNU’s goalkeepers played an excellent match, stopping nine shots on goal and blanking the Cougars for 90 minutes of regulation. Unfortunately, the Sea Lion offense was held scoreless as well. APU broke through and ended the game - and Point Loma’s season - with a goal one minute into overtime. The team had dropped out of the rankings by then and had its two-year streak of NAIA national tournament appearances snapped.

Two Sea Lions – both seniors – were named to the All-GSAC team: Rebecca Lewis and Breanna Nelson. Nelson, the team’s top defender for four seasons, was also selected as PLNU’s MVP. Kari Moore led the squad with six goals on the season, four more than the two each from Lewis and Jennifer Tan.

Six others notched one goal on the year, including Amanda Rowand. The junior was counted on as one of the players to fill the void of graduating strikers Christine Grover and Becky Torres, but injuries limited her effectiveness and kept her off the field for much of the year. Rowand was only one of many Sea Lions that were bitten by the injury bug in 2008.

Two keepers:  freshman Wendy Espejel and Cissy Butler, helped keep Point Loma Nazarene competitive all year long. Espejel surrendered just 0.68 goals per game and had four shutouts. Butler had three saves and allowed only 0.74 goals per game. PLNU’s backfield of Nelson, Lindsay Bollar, Lauren Leslie, Lily Rainey, Kellie Corbett, Erica Wessles, Ashley Adams, Tommie Graham and Melanie Starchuck each did a solid job defensively as well.