Donya Rouzbehi
Staff Writer
The men’s soccer team tied with Occidental, 3-3, in their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday at Ortmayer Stadium.
“We were playing good. They had the ball, chances and moments to score,” head coach Drew Rea said. “If we lost today, I was still going to be happy because we played well.”
The Leopards struggled in the first half, giving up two unanswered goals to the Tigers to go into halftime down, 2-0.
“We were definitely out of it but the second half came and we changed it up,” freshman forward Israel Jimenez Ramirez said.
He started the scoring for the Leopards with an unassisted goal in the 72nd minute.
“I stepped on the field and I knew that I had to score or do something to help the team,” Jimenez Ramirez said.
Junior forward Diego Soto continued the comeback with a goal in the 78th minute to tie the game, 2-2.
“They were playing pretty good. But we picked up the momentum and we tied it and even scored a nice goal at the end for a 3-2,” Soto said.
That go-ahead goal came on a dramatic play in the 80th minute in which senior midfielder Alexander Bastidas collided with Occidental junior goalkeeper Joseph Bassett in front of the box. The ball found the back of the net to give the Leopards a 3-2 lead, but Bastidas left with an injury as Bassett received a yellow card.
The excitement was short-lived, however, as Occidental scored an equalizer right before the buzzer to tie the game, 3-3.
Rea believes there are a few things his team can improve on to secure a win in the next match.
“We want to be excited and bring a lot of notoriety to the college,” Rea said. ”I think our team is young and hungry and pretty excited about it.”
Assistant coach Bryan Phillips thought his team fought well against their opponent.
“The boys continued to battle, and when you battle, good things happen,” Phillips said.
Phillips felt his team’s effort was great and the energy was put in.
“We’ve just got to get a little bit better at finishing our chances,” Phillips said. “I think as we move on and move forward into the season, we’ll see that sharpness and be able to finish less chances.”
Soto also believes his team can improve a little more to secure a win for their next match.
“Honestly, we could use more discipline. We were gambling too much but everyone here has that winning mentality,” Soto said.
The Leopards have an overall record of 2-1-3 and will have their next match against Chapman at noon Saturday in Orange.
Donya Rouzbehi can be reached at donya.rouzbehi@laverne.edu.
Donya Rouzbehi is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism, and staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has previously served as sports editor and a staff writer for the Campus Times, and is co-editor-in-chief of La Verne Magazine. Her other writing can be found at trillmag.com/author/donya-rouzbehi
Antonio Ceniceros is a senior photography major and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. He is also the lead photographer and social media manager for the University of La Verne’s football team, and currently specializes in sports, concert, and fashion photography. You can find his work on Instagram at @flicksbycinco..
