by Amanda Stutevoss
Special to the Times
Penalties and injuries played a factor in Wednesday’s men’s soccer game against the Redlands, as the Leopards were defeated 10-0 to the Bulldogs.
La Verne entered Wednesday’s game knowing that their defensive game needed to be razor sharp.
“We came out with good defensive posture, but no true offensive threat,” said head coach Shayon Jalayer.
The Leopards held the Bulldogs for the first 15 minutes of the game until Redlands forward Andy O’Shay scored on a breakaway, his first goal of four.
Leopards’ starters Nathan Chabolla and Max Gebhardt both received red cards in Saturday’s game against Claremont. In addition starter Nathan Swift sat out due to an injury, leaving La Verne with only three reserve players. Twenty minutes into the first half, midfielder Brice Nixon had to leave the game due to a contusion to his leg.
“Red cards and injuries did have some impact on our loss, but I would have to attribute most of the let down to mental mistakes,” said Jalayer.
A scoring streak by the Bulldogs in the second half put the game out of reach. The Bulldogs scored four goals within a matter of 7 minutes bringing the score to 8-0.
The Leopards were outshot 30-10 throughout the game. “We didn’t close down very effectively,” said captain Art Pico.
The Leopards, 1-7, host Cal Lutheran today.
