Lalo Delgado played a monster game in goal, and Panchito Castro scored in the second minute of overtime to give Westmont a 2-1 men’s soccer victory over visiting Rocky Mountain (Montana) for its first win of the season on Saturday.
Delgado made a whopping 13 saves, the second most in a single game in Westmont history.
Rocky Mountain kicked off the scoring in the 21st minute as Nolan Sherwood crossed the ball from just outside the box on the right side and found the foot of Sky Swenson. Swenson finished the ball from seven yards out past Delgado to claim the early 1-0 advantage.
Christian Webb drew a foul in the box, awarding Westmont a penalty kick. Webb stepped up to take the penalty with confidence and poise and fired the ball to the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1 in the second half.
Delgado made a number of phenomenal saves throughout the game, none bigger than the save in the 76th minute when Swenson looked to ice the game for the Battlin’ Bears. Delgado made an acrobatic leap to swipe the ball out of the air.
“They were on a breakaway and a guy cut it with his left. He hit it with a good amount of power. I held on to it because I was just in the moment and didn’t want to give a rebound,” recalled Delgado. “It got difficult because my defender got in front and the ball popped out of nowhere with a good amount of curve on it. I was happy I was able to make the save.”
The score remained stuck after regulation and the game went into overtime.
It didn’t take long for Westmont to seal the victory. In the 92nd minute, Webb beat his defender on the left side to sneak into the box. He then played the ball back to the middle of the box where Castro came on and ripped the game-winner.
“I saw Christian taking it down the line and I knew I had to keep following my run,” Castro said. “Coach Johnny always emphasizes finishing our runs and getting to the box. I knew that if I got there, there was going to be an opportunity and there was. Luckily, I finished it.”
The win should give the team a confidence boost, said Westmont coach Dave Wolf. “This is the end of our third week. It’s not a lot of time. They have experienced a lot in these three weeks. I think that there have been spots of progress but it’s hard to keep believing that if you don’t post a win. Winning undeniably plants the seed of confidence and self-belief.”