Nicole Knight
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne men’s soccer team (1-1-2) defeated Chapman 2-0 on Sept. 11 to earn a historic first season win. The home field victory against Chapman (1-2) was the first in school history. The accomplishment proved even greater to the Leopards having been defeated by the Panthers 9-0 last season.
Senior midfielder Chet Jusakul, assisted by midfielder Ruben Trujillo put the Leopards on the scoreboard in the 35th minute to give ULV the lead at halftime. La Verne carried over its positive first half into the second to score again in the 50th minute.
Midfielder Eduardo Rodriguez, assisted by midfielder Daniel Aguirre, improved the Leopards lead 2-0 with a shot off cross. ULV played strong defense in the second half to hold off Chapman to win the game. La Verne’s goalkeeper Cody Black had a shut out game with five saves in 90 minutes of action.
The Leopards played an aggressive game on offense with 18 shots on Chapman’s goal. ULV showed strong team chemistry throughout the entire game.
“Passing the ball, connecting the passes, checking the ball, and a lot of running” were all winning factors for the game, Jusakul said.
Chapman senior forward Brock Schermerhorn led the Panthers with five shots on ULV’s goal.
“The game was very transitional and not very solid on our behalf,” Schermerhorn said. The senior forward noticed the new players for the Leopards and said they had played “more together” then in previous years.
The frustration of ULV’s previous games gave strong motivation during Saturday night’s game against Chapman. “After tying with Puget Sound and Cal Baptist and losing to Pacific Lutheran, we just needed to win,” said Cody Black, La Verne’s freshman goalkeeper.
The Leopards began their 2004 season in Washington, coming home with a tie (0-0) to the University of Puget Sound and a loss (4-1) to Pacific Lutheran University.
Back on Ben Hines field in La Verne, ULV fought for another tie (0-0) to California Baptist University on Sept. 8. Head coach Crescenio Gonzalez believed his team played with poise, pride, and unity. “Our previous games have challenged them to be competitive and I believe they did very well,” Gonzalez said.
The team has a strong outlook for 2004. The Leopards are striving towards goals of being top four in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team has a rigorous schedule ahead of them with a 20-game season.
“This is our best recruiting and returning year for ULV,” Gonzalez said. Striving toward their season goals with confidence, Gonzalez described the 2004 men’s soccer team in one word, “optimism.”
Nicole Knight can be reached at stareknight17@charter.net.
