Westmont Men’s Soccer’s journey into the postseason came to an abrupt end in the second round of the NAIA National Championship. The Warriors fell to Hastings of Neb. by a score of 2-0.
“We weren’t very good in the final third of the field,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “Once we got to the final third, it was either forced, or there was a lack of quality. There was no real possession or chance creation.”
The game remained scoreless until the 68th minute when Lukas Goetz of Hastings scored on a cross from Tom Steging. The two teamed up for another goal in the 90th minute when Westmont had pulled players forward in an attempt to score before time expired.
The loss brought an end to one of the most successful season in Warrior history. The Warriors went 13-3-1
“It has been a remarkable year,” noted Wolf. “It will take some time to unpack it in all its depth. In some ways it was a very surprising year, in some ways very satisfying, in some ways a direct response to very difficult and challenging things we went through last year. Which also, ironically, ended on this field.
“The team fought their way from a long ways back. If I go back to last November and I think about the things that they invested in the past 12 months, it is come kind of body of work. It wasn’t just this fall. It was last spring, the summer and then this fall. They invested an awful lot in this experience and, I think, got a lot out of it.”