Game Recap By Mason Nesbitt, TMU Sports Information Director

Curtis Lewis chose Firehouse Subs as the venue for lighting a fire under his seniors.

The longtime women’s soccer coach went to lunch with TMU’s upperclassmen two weeks ago. He wanted to talk about leadership, ownership and direction – where was the team and where was it headed.

It all had to start, he said, with the players who’d been around longest.

“He said we needed to step up and perform better, on and off the field,” said fifth-year senior Kellian Ahearn. “I think we took that calling, put our boots on and went out there and tried to get the job done.”

The message showed signs of taking root Thursday as the Mustangs beat William Jessup 2-0 in Rocklin, Calif., a suburb of Sacramento where Master’s has regularly won – but never with ease.

The teams played to a scoreless tie at halftime before goals from Payton Williams and Ahearn lifted the Mustangs (9-3-1 overall, 2-1 GSAC) to their seventh win over the Warriors in the teams’ last eight meetings.

The other decision was a scoreless tie, also in Rocklin. In fact, nearly every time Master’s has played at Jessup since 2014 – the Warriors’ first season in the Golden State Athletic Conference – the score has been decided by one goal or ended in a tie.

Twice the game went to overtime.

“It’s a difficult place to play,” Lewis said.

Said Ahearn, “We always come up here and win or tie, but it’s definitely a hard-fought battle.”

Williams put the Mustangs more at ease in the 53rd minute when she one-timed a shot from the top of the Warriors’ 18-yard box to open the scoring. Senior Hailey Gomillion provided the assist.

It was Williams’ second goal of the season and a giant shot in the arm.

“Whenever anyone scores, the team gets a lot more momentum and excitement,” said Williams, a sophomore defender. “I could feel that everyone wanted to drive forward and get another goal.”

TMU was rewarded in the 76th minute when senior Sierra Carrasco drove into the penalty box and drew a foul. Ahearn walked up to take the kick – and put into practice what Lewis had preached at lunch. “I called them out and said, ‘Hey, you have to lead this team and take ownership for the goals,'” Lewis recalled.

Ahearn connected on a shot to the left as the goalie went right. And Master’s continued in the right direction after opening GSAC play last week with a loss to Vanguard University that could have been crushing.

Here’s the box score.

Instead, Master’s won its next two. It will look for a three-game winning streak Saturday at Menlo College in Atherton.

In light of the quick turnaround, Lewis was pleased that he was able to rest a number of starters for parts of Thursday’s match, one being defender Laura English, who, along with Kayla Peterson, keyed a defense that held the Warriors to four shots, one on goal.