Angie Gangi
Staff Writer
With the most wins since the 1987 season, the University of La Verne men’s soccer team capped its season finishing second in conference with a record of 9-2-3 and an overall record of 11-5-3.
“The season was better than our goals,” head coach Cres Gonzalez said.
“The responsibility just increased because now we know that we can win a conference title.”
The men’s and women’s teams celebrated Senior Night during their last home games of the season. On Nov. 2, seniors on the men’s team were given framed jerseys to commemorate the last game of their college career at ULV. The men’s team won their final contest of the season against Whittier, 3-0. The women’s team (7-8-4) held its Senior Night on Oct. 31 with a victory coming after an overtime battle with Chapman.
“It was cool because it was the last home game and the seniors were leaving,” junior defenseman Amber Lejay said.
The women’s team lost three seniors at the end of this season. The loss is more dramatically changing the men’s team with a loss of six seniors.
“I am deeply indebted to those seniors,” Gonzalez said. “When I took the program it was not in good shape and a couple of those guys could definitely have left the program and played somewhere else but they chose to stay and work with me, so they definitely deserve a lot of the credit for where we are.”
Most of the seniors leaving the teams will continue to watch the ULV games next season and support their old teammates.
“I pretty much would give anything to play another season with those guys because they are awesome,” senior defenseman Eddy Geenen said. “I would love to see us win SCIAC next year but unfortunately I will have to be watching from the sidelines.”
As both teams look to next season, they know that changes must be made to improve.
The men’s team has struggled with finding a way to produce more goals and not turn the ball over so much.
“We need a little more offensive push,” junior defenseman Gilad Hoffman said.
“We were just a young team,” women’s team captain Nataly Clavel said. “Half of our starting positions were filled by freshmen or incoming people but everyone had a good attitude and was willing to work hard.”
The men’s team will have nine returning starters next season with six sophomores filling most of these positions.
“There’s a lot more to replace than just a soccer player but a belief that something can be changed,” coach Gonzalez said. “Getting the combination of a good soccer player and a good attitude, a fighting spirit and a willingness to follow, that’s where it’s going to be tough.”
Angie Gangi can be reached at agangi@ulv.edu.
