SportsSoccer

Soccer winning streak halted at 2

Cal Lutheran middle forward Kevin Stone (No. 3), defends against Leopard middle forward Eduardo Rodriguez (No. 6), as he brings the ball downfield for an unsuccessful attempt at a goal. The Kingsmen shut out La Verne on Wednesday, 1-0. / photo by Adam Omernik
Cal Lutheran middle forward Kevin Stone (No. 3), defends against Leopard middle forward Eduardo Rodriguez (No. 6), as he brings the ball downfield for an unsuccessful attempt at a goal. The Kingsmen shut out La Verne on Wednesday, 1-0. / photo by Adam Omernik

by Gloria Diaz
Editorial Director

On Wednesday, the University of La Verne men’s soccer team was unable to fend off the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen as they lost with a score of 1-0.

Although Leopard goalie Luis Mendoza was able to save nine Cal Lu shots, in the 30th minute into the game the Kingsmen were still able to get the ball past Mendoza and make the game-winning goal.

“It was a situation where we played well; it was an even game but they caught one break,” said assistant coach Max Gebhardt.

The Leopards fought to keep their undefeated Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record on Saturday, but could not grab hold of Pomona-Pitzer as they beat ULV with a score of 5-1.

The first five minutes of the game took the Leopards by surprise as the Sagehens scored two goals. This set the standard for the rest of the game as Pomona-Pitzer dominated the game and the ball.

“The unfortunate thing was that we tried to start with a different a set up, but it didn’t work for us,” said head coach Cres Gonzalez. “After we changed that, we did very well.”

Attempts were made by ULV to catch up to the 2-0 score at the end of the first half, but they went unheeded.

Freshman midfielder Daniel Aguirre said a problem the team had was that there were some injured players, forcing the Leopards to step up in play.

The Leopards picked up the pace in the second half and played a better defensive game.

Offensively, ULV drove the ball to the box more often than in the first half.

With 25 minutes left in the second half, Edgar Manzo shot from the corner and scored the only goal for the Leopards, squashing any hopes the Sagehens had for a shut-out win.

“They surprised us early on,” Manzo said. “We had to catch up the rest of the game. Everyone worked hard.”

Between midfielder Eduardo Rodriguez, forward Steven Lane and Manzo, there were eight attempts made at scoring.

Mendoza was able to deflect five shots away from making into the box in the game. The Leopards lost the game by a score of 5-1.

Gonzalez said that mental lapses hurt the team’s performance, which Pomona-Pitzer took advantage of.

Next, the Leopards will face the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags at 11 a.m., tomorrow in Claremont.

Gloria Diaz, Arts and Entertainment Editor
Gloria Diaz
Other Stories
Adam Omernik, Photography Editor
Adam Omernik
Other Stories
Previous article
Letter to the Editor
Next article
News Briefs

Latest Stories

Related articles

Softball

Leopards take series from Cal Lutheran in conference clash

The Leopards, in a mid-season conference clash, defeated Cal Lutheran, 2-1, at Campus West on April 10. The team also had a doubleheader the next day against the Regals in Thousand Oaks, winning game one, 6-3, and falling short, 9-4, in the final game.
Baseball

Leopards fall short in first game of series

The Leopards lost to the Kingsmen, 15-6 and are 17-12-1 overall on the season and 9-6 in SCIAC play.
Baseball

Cres Gonzalez keeps ULV athletics running behind the scenes

A Leopard home game couldn't happen without the hard work of Cres Gonzalez.
Sports

Water polo loses again

The Leopards lost, 25-3, and are still looking for their first win of the season.