ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's soccer team got back to its winning ways at home, defeating visiting Whittier College 4-0 at Wilson Field on Saturday night and putting some much-needed distance between itself and a slew of SCIAC teams competing for the fourth spot in the standings.

The Panthers, which had been 0-2-1 in their past three home matches, left little doubt in this one by scoring a pair of early goals and then cinching it late with two more.

Chapman (9-6-1 overall, 6-4 SCIAC) currently sits alone in third place, two wins behind second-place Pomona-Pitzer and two wins ahead of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Redlands.

It was a big night for senior M Val Sobol who scored a goal for the second straight game and added a pair of assists to tie Kim Wyer for third place on Chapman's all-time scoring list with 75 career points. Sobol's penalty kick goal in the 16th minute gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead and was her 31st career goal (fourth all-time in CU history). The senior is now tied for the team lead with six goals and 15 points this season.

Sobol assisted on Chapman's first goal of the game by sophomore M Haley Fedden in the 6th minute to put the Panthers on the board early.

Leading 2-0 at halftime, the Panthers came out in the second half and out-shot Whittier (1-14 overall, 1-9 SCIAC) 16-6 in the period, but didn't notch another score until the 82nd minute when freshman M Katie Bell scored on a direct kick just inside the 19. Chapman sophomore F Baylor Hogan added some insurance with just 52 seconds left in the match, scoring on a breakaway off a pass from Sobol to make it 4-0.

Junior GK Marissa Fehrman and freshman GK Kristin Kleinow combined to keep Chapman's sixth shutout of the year, facing nine shots. Kleinow made four saves in the game, including a pair of big saves on direct kicks by the Poets.

Chapman will host the team it's chasing in the standings, Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Wilson Field. The Sagehens handed the Panthers a 4-1 loss in Claremont in their last meeting. The game is a rematch of last year's SCIAC Tournament championship match in which Chapman won 4-1.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://chapmanathletics.com/sports/wsoc/2013-14/boxscores/20131019_cvs2.xml

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#CUPanthers