Playing at a neutral site on the campus of Simon Fraser, Westmont Men’s Soccer (1-1) suffered its first loss of the 2026 season, falling to Saint Martin’s of Washington (2-0) by a score of 1-0.
“I think today we won a handful of moments,” assessed Westmont Men’s Soccer’s head coach Morgan Cathey. “Overall, the performance was pretty good.
“It was a difficult game on a difficult surface. It was not an easy opponent, they defended really well. There weren’t that many clear chances for us. We started off a little bit shaky in our build up play, but settled into the game after 15 minutes and I thought we were in control. From there, I thought we deserved more than what we got.”
The game’s only goal came in the 77th minute. The Saints’ Corbin Herrera served a line drive to the center of the pitch. Johnathan Wright, about 20 yards out, did not let the ball touch the ground, blasting a one-touch shot into the upper right-hand crease.
“They finished an unbelievable chance from a set play, so credit to them,” said Cathey. “We couldn’t get the equalizer at the end. I think our guys will grow a lot from this game, especially when it comes to owning the small margins that can make a difference in a tight game.”
Asked who stood out in today’s game, Cathey responded, “Aidan Stricker had another good game in goal. He kept us in the game and made one really outstanding save to start the game. He also settled into the game really well.
“The other player I thought played quite well was Luis Cortes. He had four shots in the game and I thought he created a lot. He was really good on both sides of the ball.
“Our back line also did really well. I thought we defended excellently throughout the game. It was a set play that we weren’t quite switched on that led to their goal. Other than that, I thought everyone in the back did well.
“Logan Race came in for the second game in a row and provided great presence on the field and helped solidify the defense. That is great for him and for us as well.”
Reflecting on the team’s attitude toward the outing, Cathey said, “At the end of the game, I think the whole group felt decent about our performance. We were just wanting to get a couple of moments back where we lacked discipline or lacked the killer edge. We had three or four moments where we were one-on-one with the goalkeeper that we didn’t set our feet right or take a good enough first touch.”
Westmont returns from Canada tomorrow for a quick turnaround, taking the pitch in their home opener at Thorrington Field on Tuesday. The Warriors will host the Leopards of La Verne with kick-off scheduled for 4:00 p.m.