Rubbie Chavez
Staff Writer
After a big win, the men’s soccer team beat the Whittier Poets, 2-0, Saturday to earn a berth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Head coach Drew Rea said his goal going into the season was to make it to the tournament and said the team has worked hard to get to where they are.
“I’m so happy for the boys,” Rea said. “We deserved it, all year to get some results, and we finally did… a couple things went our way and I’m over the moon for the boys.”
The Leopards started off strong in the first half keeping possession from the Poets.
Their play was aggressive and stayed on defense.
La Verne continued to shoot, inching closer to the goal every chance they were able to get.
After mistakes from the Poets’ defense, the Leopards took that as an advantage, creating plays through the middle. Following their game plan La Verne was able to throw off the Poets early on.
Half way through, midfielder Alexander Bastidas gave the Leopards the lead with a big shot to make the score 1-0.
Joshua McCowan, junior defender, said both the defense and offense did their job.
“They did everything that we asked of them, and they made my job easy today,” McCowan said. “We put it out wide and we scored on them… we did our job.”
The Leopards continued to create plays resetting through their defense to take control of the momentum.
La Verne utilized their goalie to dictate their game after he had four saves in the game.
After pressure from the Poets and the Leopards defense staying strong, the offense got through the defense to create a shot at the goal.
With five minutes left in the first half, a pass to Alex Singleton set up a shot to put the Leopards up 2-0.
The Leopards kept up the energy for the entire second half moving the ball along the field.
Defense stayed strong for the Leopards as the Poets continued to try and attack.
The Poets tried to capitalize throughout the half by shooting and trying to create big plays but ultimately fell short.
“We gave everything we had,” Manzano said. “We knew it was going to be a final. We were both fighting for the last spot, so I’m really happy with the performance from the team.”
The Leopards continued to dominate the game, keeping it at their control. They tried to push for more goals but found themselves unsuccessful.
“From the get-go we didn’t allow them to follow their game plan but we followed our game plan,” Carlos Cervantes, junior midfielder, said.
The Leopards finished their regular season in fifth place to advance. With a record of 7-6-5, they are continuing to push through.
The Leopards played their first round of the SCIAC tournament Tuesday against the Chapman Panthers in Orange.
Regulation time remained scoreless for both the Leopards and the Panthers. After that, La Verne won, 8-7, in a penalty shootout.
The Leopards play their second round in the SCIAC tournament against the Occidental Tigers on Thursday night in Los Angeles. Results were not available at press time.
Rubbie Chavez can be reached at rubbie.chavez@laverne.edu.
Rubbie Chavez is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations, and a staff writer for the Campus Times. She is also a dedicated photographer for La Verne Athletics, and her passion for storytelling and sports through dynamic visual content. Her work can also be found on Instagram or at gfxbyrubbie.myportfolio.com
CC Flaherty is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine, and a junior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is also a broadcast announcer for La Verne Athletics and has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times.
