SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Dominican women's soccer earned an early lead, but couldn't hold on in the second half, falling to Point Loma Nazarene University Saturday afternoon at Kennelly Field.
 
The Sea Lions (5-4, 2-0 PacWest) outshot the Penguins, 18-7, and their defense held Dominican (3-2-3, 0-1 PacWest) to just three shots on goal throughout the contest. Goalkeeper Emma Hinson collected two saves as she went on to earn the win in goal for Point Loma. Rachel Carrell, Hailey Clifford, and Sarah Steinhaus sent shots to the back of the net to lead PLNU past the Penguins.
 
Senior goalkeeper Alyssa Ramos tallied seven saves through 90 minutes of regulation. Freshman forward Tanya Bills earned Dominican their only goal of the match, but the lone goal wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
 
The Sea Lions began the game on the offensive attack, making several pushes down the right sideline for crosses into the box, but Dominican's backline denied each attempt. In the 17^th minute, The Penguins earned their own opportunity as Annika Cerini beat her defender to gain position in the box and sent a cross to Bills, finding the back of the net for her first career goal.
 
Point Loma evened the score in the 27^th minute when Abbey Teagle skipped a pass over to Lauren O'Malley, who touched it to Carrell for the equalizer.
 
The Sea Lions came back in the second half on the offensive push once more. After a scrum in the box in the 55^th minute, Ashlee Watkins regained control and sent a shot to the net, but Ramos made a diving block. Teagle repossessed the ball for PLNU after a scramble for the loose ball and sent another liner in the bottom left corner, but Ramos was there once again to make a diving save, ending the scare.
 
Point Loma created another opportunity to score just after the 59-minute mark as they earned a corner kick that would result in Abbi Swanson connecting with Clifford in the box for a header goal, giving the Sea Lions the 2-1 lead. Forty seconds later, Steinhaus extended Point Loma's lead to 3-1, taking a shot from the top of the box, unassisted, and sending it past the reaching arms of Ramos.
 
In the 81^st minute, the Penguins created their best chance of earning a second goal when Hannah Bonfils earned her way into the box and crossed it to Alison McNeal racing in front of the net, but McNeal's attempt landed wide. 
 
The Penguins will look to earn their first PacWest victory Wednesday, as they travel to Fresno Pacific University to take on the Sunbirds at 5 p.m. PDT. Live video and stats will be available online.