Lila Gongora
LV Life Editor
The men’s soccer team won their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Chapman, 2-1, Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
The Panthers came into the match strong, maintaining possession in the attacking third and creating plenty of scoring opportunities, forcing the Leopards to work defensively.
Senior midfielder Juan Manzano changed the dynamic of the game, scoring the first goal of the match in the 21st minute with an assist from senior forward Diego Soto.
“It felt so amazing being there with the boys,” Manzano said. “We’re still fixing some pieces on aspects of the game, but I know we can do better.”
Manzano now stands as the lead scorer on the team along with senior forward Diego Soto and senior midfielder Alexander Bastidas.
After the first goal, La Verne began to gain momentum and find weak points in Chapman’s defense. The Panthers’ mistakes in their defensive formations allowed the Leopards to gain possession of the ball and put themselves in scoring positions.
Chapman was awarded multiple corner kicks and had many opportunities to take shots on goal due to some messy plays on the La Verne side, but they still struggled to find the back of the net.
Senior defender Joshua McCowan was a key component in keeping the La Verne defense together. His ability to push the defensive line forward and communicate with his teammates helped keep the Leopards in the game.
“We would have liked to keep the clean sheet, but at the end of the day, the win is all that matters, so we’re just happy to get that,” McCowan said. “I felt like we let a little bit go through our box, usually we would like to just get the first one out.”
Senior goalkeeper Joshua Simonton was able to deflect all shots on goal in the first half and currently holds a career save percentage of 85%. After this match, Simonton was named Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference defensive athlete of the week.
About 15 minutes into the second half, junior defender Gerardo Raya received a yellow card for excessive contact as the game started to become more physical on both sides.
With less than four minutes left in the game, Bastidas also received a yellow card for the same reason.
The longstanding rivalry between Chapman and La Verne was evident with the referee delegating significantly more contact between the men.
At 69:51, senior midfielder Carlos Cervantes scored his first goal of the season. The assist came from freshman midfielder Kai Garza.
The freshmen presence on the La Verne side was a clear asset to the team. As this incoming class begins to refine their style of play, they have begun to accumulate more minutes on the field. Garza had the assist, and freshman midfielder Tyler Valdez had multiple shots on goal throughout the match.
“I think what I need to work on is scoring, putting the ball in the back of the net,” Valdez said.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, Chapman sophomore forward Hudson Weinberger was able to score the only goal for the Panthers.
Though they were able to secure the 2-1 win, it was not in the way that head coach Drew Rea expected. He felt that the team struggled to find their rhythm, so in the next matches it is vital that the men are able to identify their own weaknesses and improve.
“We just have to find out more and not get into these slug matches that we don’t want to get into,” Rea said. “On the bright side, there were moments of great passing, and the movement was great.”
The Leopards traveled to Redlands on Wednesday and came away with a 1-0 loss. The team is 1-1-1 in SCIAC and 3-2-3 overall.
The Leopards will face Cal Lutheran at William Rolland Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Lila Gongora can be reached at lila.gongora@laverne.edu.
Lila Gongora is a sophomore communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is the LV Life editor for the Campus Times and previously served as a staff writer.
