by Danny Craig
Staff Writer
It was a disappointing situation for men’s soccer when they left the Redlands field after being defeated by the Bulldogs 1-0 Saturday.
Spending nearly the entire first half of the match in their own end of the field, La Verne had trouble launching an offensive attack early in the game. The slow start paved the way for only two attempts on goal, on from freshman midfielder Nathan Chabolla, and the other from sophomore forward Ryan Rodriguez.
Freshman goalkeeper Robbie Turner gave an excellent performance throughout the defensive half, and the game in general, with 12 saves for the La Verne squad.
Despite the goalkeeper’s efforts, Redlands forward Andy Oshay sent one up and over Turner’s right side from a spot kick, 12 minutes into the first half. Oshay’s goal would give the Bulldogs the advantage for the rest of the game.
After halftime talks from the coaches expressing a need to “step it up,” La Verne entered the second half with a clear and present offensive surge. La Verne kept the Bulldogs defense busy for a majority of the second half.
Although the men put forth a previously unseen effort in the latter half of the contest, it was too little, too late. La Verne could not recover from Redlands’ early score in the first half. The clock ran out, and the Bulldogs retained their one point advantage.
“We’re a young team,” said Tom Chambers, junior defender, in response to his team’s loss. “We showed heart, we showed pride,” said Chambers, who added that he sees improvement in his team.
Head coach Shayon Jalayer expressed frustration with the level of confidence in his players.
“There’s a belief factor here,” said Jalayer.
Despite his frustration with the game, Jalayer was content with the exceptional effort put forth by sophomore defender Lance Pico, and freshman midfielder Sean Kennelly.
In response to his impression of the matchup, Bulldogs Head coach Rob Beccera said, “I think that both teams gave a good effort today, but I think that our fitness and our character really showed and so I think we played harder today.”
With three days to separate themselves from the Redlands loss, the Leopards gave what Jalayer expressed to be a better effort in the 2-0 loss to Cal Lutheran University at home Wednesday night.
“The scales are even now, the teams are competing,” said Jalayer, in reference to the feel of the Leopards-Kingsmen matchup.
La Verne had a rough start in the first minute of the match when Kingsmen Gary Cabanilla scored on the first shot of the game, catching an off guard Leopards defense.
With little over a minute lapsing from the first score, Cal Lu midfielder Valentino Diaz III scored over Turner’s head. After having his shot deflect off the foot of Leopards defender Lance Pico and into the goal, Diaz scored the second of two goals scored by the Kingsmen that day.
The early scoring served as a wake-up call for the Leopards, who began the competitive attack that Jalayer mentioned. Not permitting any other goals from the Kingsmen, the Leopards defense took an aggressive approach through the half, and the remainder of the match.
The second half took a physical turn with an element of concern raised by Kingsmen head coach Dan Kuntz. “Soccer really isn’t intended to be played like that, … games can get physical when calls aren’t made,” said Kuntz.
The officials issued a total of three yellow cards during the half, all of which went to the Leopards.
With the physical play, six shots on goal, and a variety of missed opportunities, the La Verne offense could not score in the concluding half of the game.
Despite an exceptional performance which players felt was not present at the Redlands match, La Verne had to settle with the loss.
“We had chances and we didn’t put them away,” said Jalayer.
Jalayer explained that he felt the mindset during practice, and during the game, was adequate. The head coach attributed the Leopards struggle, however, to the team’s youth and “naive mistakes.”
“Every game its getting better, all we can do is take one step at a time,” said Pico, commenting on his team. Although content with his team’s overall performance, Pico explained that they “have trouble coming in and going at it right away.”
With a 2-6 overall, and 0-3 SCIAC record, men’s soccer will take on Whittier tonight at 7 p.m. at Ben Hines Field.
Danny Craig
