Jolene Nacapuy
Sports Editor
The Leopards were not able to get past all the penalty calls called against them and were turned away when they tried to answer back, resulting in a Leopards loss, 2-1, to No. 23 Pomona-Pitzer Saturday.
The Leopards managed to tie the game in the second half, when junior defender Anton Russell passed the ball to sophomore forward Saul Uribe.
Uribe kicked into the net off the post, tying the game, 1-1.
He has five goals this season.
“We’re doing really well as a team and need to keep it up,” head coach Trevor Persson said. “We just got unlucky with all those bad bounces.”
Pomona-Pitzer broke the tie with a penalty shot made by sophomore forward Felipe Galvis.
“It was a well fought game, but we just got unlucky with the last goal and couldn’t bounce back from it,” Persson said.
The Sagehens put the pressure on early against the Leopards.
Sophomore midfielder Matthew Marvin kicked the ball 20-yards out past a defender, putting Pomona-Pitzer on the board first.
Sophomore midfielder Justin Almandinger attempted to answer back with a penalty shot, but Pomona-Pitzer’s senior goalkeeper Nigel Brady managed to save the ball.
“It was a hard fought game,” Almandinger said. “Both sides were in control of the game, but they just came out to win.”
The Sagehens outshot La Verne, 22-10.
“We need to finish our chances and those penalties,” Almandinger said. “There were missed opportunities and we just need to work a little harder to finish.”
The team also faced the Chapman Panthers Monday at Wilson field and lost 5-1.
The Panthers outshot the Leopards, 31-4, with 15 on goal.
They made 12 corner kicks while La Verne had none.
“This season we’re doing good with just a few bumps in the road and we’re trying to finish the season strong,” Persson said.
La Verne has fallen to sixth place in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings. The Leopards are now 8-6-1 overall and 5-6 in SCIAC play.
The team will face Redlands at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
Jolene Nacapuy can be reached at jolene.nacapuy@laverne.edu.
