California Baptist University
10-8-3, 6-3-1
#3 Utah Tech
8-7-5, 4-4-2
Late-Match Heroics Sends CBU Back to the WAC Championship Game
11/5/2025 5:43:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OREM, UT--- The California Baptist University women's soccer team would punch its ticket back to the Championship game with a dramatic come-from-behind victory in penalty kicks over the Utah Tech Trailblazers in the Western Athletic Conference semifinals.
The win earned CBU the right to defend its WAC Championship after the squad took home its first-ever conference crown last season over Grand Canyon.
There would not be a shortage of action in this match from the jump, as within two minutes, the Trailblazers would have a few solid opportunities to score. Utah Tech would find the back of the net off a corner kick, but after a replay assist, it was determined to be a handball and would be called back. The Trailblazers stayed aggressive and would have another excellent look at a goal off a corner, but the CBU defense would fend it off with help from Mikaela Burchell and Ava Lopez.
The Lancers would strike first in the 12th minute as Nikki Mau weaved her way through the Trailblazer defense and found Anja Jestrovic, who would fire a line drive to the top left of the goal to put the Lancers in control early. Utah Tech would tie the game off an own-goal a few minutes later as an errant header from the Lancers would cause the ball to trickle past the defense and into the net. Both teams would protect the net well down the stretch of the half, and the two squads would be deadlocked at one goal apiece heading into halftime.
Scoring opportunities were few and far between for either team over the majority of the second half as the two teams' defenses locked one another down. The deadlock would be broken in the 77th minute as the Trailblazers would connect on a perfectly-placed cross to Ella Cotter to give Utah Tech the lead. The Lancers would get aggressive as the minutes waned. CBU would have two tremendous opportunities from Grace Campos and Katrina Marsh down the stretch, but both times they would be turned away by the UTU defense. With just under 30 seconds on the clock, the ball would get deflected by multiple players before Taylor Held was able to dish it over to Ava Westlund, who would score a phenomenal goal from the top of the box into the top right corner to send the match to overtime.
In the overtime periods, CBU was the aggressor as they tried to complete the late-game comeback. The Lancers would get multiple shots on frame and corner opportunities, but the Trailblazers would deny them the elusive golden goal. Both teams went scoreless in the two ten-minute periods, and the match would then transition to penalty kicks.
The reigning WAC Goalkeeper of the Year, Mikayla O'Brien, would start PKs off with a diving save to give CBU the early edge. Jestrovic would knock in the first shot of the period for CBU, and then O'Brien would follow up with another save to give the Lancers a significant early advantage. Utah Tech would save the next CBU attempt, but could not capitalize on their next shot attempt as it would hit the crossbar. Kaylee Hauck would come up big with the second conversion for the Lancers, which was followed by a make by Utah Tech. A high miss from UTU would seal the match for the Lancers as they would win 2-1 in penalty kicks to punch their ticket back to the WAC Championships game.
"First half was not a good performance for our standards, said Head Coach Kristen St. Clair." "We gave away a goal that we shouldn't have due to miscommunication. We made the game harder than it needed to be by poor first touches, not winning 50/50 balls and not keeping possession consistently. Anja did a fantastic job crashing the box and great composure hitting a laser to open the scoring for us. Second half was better. I was impressed with our team's heart, resolve and grit to fight their way through the adversity and get the game tying goal. Ava Westlund has a knack for scoring big goals in big games. To collect a difficult ball, turn, hit it into the far upper corner is a fantastic goal! That shows why she earned 1st team All Conference this year. I thought we had the game winner a couple times in overtime but just barely missed wide, hit the post or a great save by the keeper. Mikayla O'Brien showed why she's the best goalkeeper in the conference with two huge penalty kicks saves. Our captain Kaylee Hauck scored the game winning penalty kick to send us to Saturday's final. Proud of this team and at the end of the day we advance and have an opportunity to defend our WAC title on Saturday."
NEXT: The Lancers will face the winner of the Utah Valley/ACU matchup in the Championship game on Saturday, November 8, at 3 PM PT.
Team Stats
Anja Jestrovic (6)
Assisted By: Nikki Mau
GOAL by CBU Jestrovic, Anja Assist by Mau, Nikki.
12:29
0
GOAL by UTECH TEAM.
18:36
Ella Cotter (1)
Assisted By: Ella Rusick , Lexi Nelson
GOAL by UTECH Cotter, Ella Assist by Rusick, Ella and Nelson, Lexi.
77:49
Ava Westlund (9)
Assisted By: Taylor Held
GOAL by CBU Westlund, Ava Assist by Held, Taylor.
89:40
