(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Men’s Soccer (7-6-5) had a quick turnaround after Friday night’s 2-0 win over Biola, but the Warriors prevailed in Saturday’s non-conference match-up with the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz by a score of 3-2.
The weather delay last night meant the Warriors had only about 14 hours between the final whistle in La Mirada and kick-off on Thorrington Field.
A result of his commitment to player development, Westmont’s head coach Morgan Cathey used the opportunity of facing a Division III school to rest some of his starters while giving other players the opportunity to gain valuable game minutes. Eight of the 11 starters from the game against Biola did not play against UC Santa Cruz.
The Warriors scored the only goal of the first half, taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. Westmont was awarded a free kick when Weston Ash was fouled near the right-hand touchline.
Jordan Cruijff-Beane took the free kick and bent it around the defense. Logan Race ran on the service, allowed it to bounce once, then fired his shot into the right side netting.
“I think it’s never an easy time for guys to get back so late last night, focus their attention, and then bring the most out of themselves,” observed Cathey. “I think it’s easy for guys to focus so much on wanting to perform individually – wanting to be great and prove a point for themselves. Sometimes today, in the first half especially, we took most of our attention individually and collectively we weren’t cohesive.
“We didn’t play the way we wanted to play on both sides of the ball. I think throughout the game we didn’t create enough chances through the run of play. To score three set-piece goals is great on one hand. At the same time, it tells a story that we needed to improve in creating better chances for ourselves.”
As early as Race scored in the first half, Micah Wilhelm did so in the second. In the 49th minute, Andrew Martinez threw a ball in from the right touchline, 10 yards from the corner flag.
The ball was thrown in front of the goal where Wilhelm beat out two defenders and the goalkeeper to head it toward the left side of the goal. The ball hit the upright, then bounced into the goal.
The Banana Slugs got on the board in the 63rd minute when Soren Groessei sent a penalty kick along the ground into the goal’s left side.
Five minutes later, Race scored again to give Westmont a 3-1 lead. Corban Kuhn took a corner kick on the right side and sent it back up the field. Near the touchline, Jackson Obleda served the ball above the six-yard box. From 11 yards out, Race headed it into the right-side crease, recording the brace.
In the 87th minute, Groessi scored his second goal of the game when he intercepted a pass at the top of the 18-yard box. Groessi touched the ball forward, then fired from 12 yards out. Hitting the right post, the ball ricocheted into the goal.
“I thought Logan was outstanding on both sides of the ball,” expressed Cathey. “I thought he defended really well throughout the whole game and then, obviously, to get two goals was really good. I thought Jackson played with so much passion and I thought he tried to control the game.
“Then, I thought our front two players Wes and Donovan Espino, did well to link plays. I thought there were a lot of things that came in and through them. Then, I thought Micah, when he came on, added some really good presence.
“It was so nice to see Luke Furtado get his first minutes in a really long time, that’s probably one of the biggest highlights of the day for us. Thiago Valerio – Turbo – also played today for the first time in over a month, which was great.”
Westmont returns to PacWest play next week for the final two games of the regular season. On Wednesday, the Warriors will host the Golden Eagles of Concordia. Then on Saturday, Westmont hosts Point Loma.
Currently, the Warriors are in third place with a conference record of 4-1-2 and 14 points (three points for each win, one point for each tie). Vanguard sits atop the table with 16 points and a record of 5-2-1. Vanguard has just one game remaining, hosting Biola on Wednesday.
Point Loma has a 5-3 mark in PacWest play. The Sea Lions are one point behind Vanguard and one point ahead of Westmont with 15 points.
One point behind Westmont and tied for fourth place are Hawai’i Pacific and Dominican. Both teams have a record of 4-2-1 and 13 points. Hawai’i Pacific hosts Jessup on Monday, then plays at Chaminade on Saturday. Dominican will play Hawai’i Hilo on Monday, then travel to Jessup to conclude the season on Saturday.
Concordia, with a conference record of 4-3 and 12 points, is also still in the mix. In addition to playing at Westmont on Wednesday, the Golden Eagles will host Biola on Saturday. Biola is also still within reach of a playoff spot with a record of 3-3-1 and 10 points.
So with one week to play, there are seven teams contending for four playoff berths. None of the seven have yet clinched a playoff berth.
If Westmont picks up wins against both Concordia and Point Loma this week, not only will the Warriors clinch a spot in the PacWest Tournament, but they will also win the PacWest Regular Season Championship.
“It’s going to come down to how we execute on both sides of the ball,” assessed Cathey. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity that we have. Our guys have done so well this season to put ourselves in this position.”