(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) In sweltering heat at Thorrington Field on Saturday afternoon, Westmont Men’s Soccer (3-5-4, 1-1-1 PacWest) seemed unfazed by the 95-degree temperature as it shut out conference opponent Jessup (2-6-1, 0-1) by a score of 3-0.

The two teams battled through a scoreless tie in the first half, with each tallying three shots on goal. In the second half, however, Westmont cranked up the thermostat on Jessup with Cash Anderholdt’s first goal of the season in the 53rd minute.

Julius Oehmichen picked up a loose ball just above the left-hand corner of the penalty box, dribbled parallel to the 18-yard zone, then lofted a pass to Anderholdt. The senior defender settled the ball in front of himself as he drove toward the right-hand corner of the six-yard box.

The Jessup goalkeeper came out, but Anderholdt’s right-footed shot went underneath the teal-clad keeper’s left leg and inside the right post on its way to the center of the back netting.

“I thought Cash was awesome,” appraised Westmont’s head coach Morgan Cathey. “The opportunity was there for him to expose space in behind, and I thought he did that with a lot of energy. He has so much ability to go and go and go, and it’s so hard for the opponent to defend him. So it was great that he was the one that got the breakthrough goal. I thought his hard work had earned that.

“I also thought he was outstanding on both sides of the ball today. He really would love a few moments back from the first two games of conference on the defensive side, and I thought today he really put a complete performance together. I’m almost more proud of how he defended throughout the game than even his attacking moments.

“I think the only player we were really disappointed that didn’t get on the scoresheet was Julius,” reflected Cathey. “I thought he was outstanding. He made so many good runs throughout the game, and I’m glad he provided a good assist for the goal for Cash, but I also think he deserved a goal today. He wants to score, he wants to help the team so much, and in that moment you could just tell he puts a good kind of pressure on himself because he wants to contribute.”

A hydration break with 22:30 showing on the second-half clock, provided Cathey with the opportunity he needed to rally his team.

“At that moment, we knew how important it was the way we come out of that water break, and how important it was to get the second goal. We had all the momentum, we had so many opportunities, but we needed to finish the second goal. Otherwise, they would still have hope.

“I was really proud of our guys that we didn’t give them many clear opportunities at all on the day, but also in the second half, when we tightened the screws and really pushed for the win, I think our guys were excellent at applying themselves in every phase.

“I’m really happy that all the healthy field players got to play and contribute today. I thought it was really important to see the whole team contribute to the team’s success. Everybody has really worked hard this week. We finally had a full week of training, which was awesome for our guys to have the opportunity to get better. Then, to see the results of the hard work today was great.”

The second goal that Cathey sought came in the 77th minute. From 10 yards within his own half, Cooper Matthews sent a ball over the top in front of Leonel Olivo Ortiz.

Olivo Ortiz beat a defender to the ball, dribbled around the goalkeeper who fell to his knees, then launched a shot with his left foot that cleared the goal line just inside the left post.

“It was such a classic Leo goal,” offered Cathey. “He’s just a menace. The ball will bounce for him and he’ll put his body in between players and he just gets himself in really good positions to hurt the opponent.

“I thought today he was outstanding. He kept running, kept working, kept pressing, kept getting in behind. I was really happy that he got on the scoresheet.”

Just three minutes later, the Warriors put the contest on ice with their third goal of the game. Olivo Ortiz dribbled down the right touchline before passing off to Anderholdt, slipping the ball past a sliding defender.

Anderholdt dribbled the ball to the right side of the six-yard box before laying it off in front of the goal. A Jessup defender popped the ball up about four feet in the air. Before it could land on the ground, Matthews used his left foot to send the ball left of the keeper and into the corner of the net.

“Cooper’s been outstanding this season—big goals in big moments, and really just consistently trying to break the opponent down,” expressed Cathey. “Today, he provided an amazing assist for Leo’s goal. That was one of the best passes on the day. He’s been doing it so well on the dribble, but today I thought he really had a couple sublime passes.

“When we were setting up for the game this week, I thought he would find himself in good moments to break the opponent down on the pass, and I was really proud of him for all the effort he put in today.”

The shutout was the third of Westmont goalkeeper Aidan Strickler’s career. He posted three saves in the game, bringing his season total to 40.

“I think our whole back line did really well,” added Cathey. “Every player in the back line did really well. I thought Logan Race came into the game and helped solidify the team. Kevin Johnson was really good, as were Barrett Goodman and Tiago Aranibar. I think they all did great.”

Westmont will take a break from PacWest play and travel south to Westwood for their next game against the Bruins of UCLA (5-1-4) in Wallis Annenberg Stadium.

The Bruins, coached by Westmont alumnus Ryan Jorden, also won by a score of 3-0 today, defeating fellow Big-10 opponent, #8 Michigan State (7-2-1).

Tuesday’s game with the Bruins is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off and will be available on the Big-10 Network.