Box Score WHITTIER, Calif. – During a weekend full of match-ups for other Whittier teams against the Occidental Tigers, the Whittier College men's soccer team was poised to make a statement themselves.
In a tough game that was physical on both ends of the field, the Poets came out victorious 2-1 moving their record to 4-5, 4-2 SCIAC, while Occidental drops to 2-7, 2-4 SCIAC.
In the first half, great passing and ball movement was the key for the Poets as they transitioned the ball nicely up the field, making cuts and runs that were so precise that the Tigers were caught on their heels. The Poets in the beginning of the game had numerous opportunities to score but were unable to find the back of the net.
It all started as Francis Maxwell got the onslaught of shots going as he tried to put a header on goal but missed high off of a cross from Patricio Carregha. Lucas de Pinna then followed that up with a shot himself but that too missed wide. But the scoring chances didn't stop there for Whittier and the Occidental goalkeeper can attest to that.
Jonathan Palomino in the 20th minute put a shot on goal that forced Andrew Larkin to jump up high to deflect the ball over the goal. Joshua Dredge then came down and took a shot from 25 yards out that was a rocket that again forced Larkin to make an amazing save.
Then Srdan Jovanovic wanted to get into the action as he also had a great look but had his shot ricochet off the side post.
These scoring opportunities would give the Poets confidence as they controlled the tempo of the first half even though they entered intermission tied at 0-0.
Coming out of the break De pinna got an early yellow card and tempers began to flare on both sides, but the Poets began playing more aggressive seeking their fourth win of the season and Adolfo Santos stepped up despite his yellow card early in the first half to put the Poets on the scoreboard in the 57th minute as Matthew Rojas put in a beautiful ball for him to finish in the upper corner of the goal.
In the 72nd minute as Occidental was coming down the field, Zoe Johnson took out a Whittier player that caused him to receive a red card and forced Occidental to play with a man down for the rest of the game.
The Poets would take advantage of that card as Jovanovic knocked in his fourth goal of the season past the outstretched hand of Larkin thanks in large part to a perfect ball placed in the box by Dredge. This would put the Poets up 2-0 and give them a lead they would not relinquish.
Carregha would manage putting two more shots on goal in the final minutes and Occidental somehow managed to get a goal of their own in the 82nd minute from Will Moseley, but it was too late as the Purple and Gold went on to victory.
Whittier returns to action as they travel to Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday, October 5th with game time slated to begin at 4:00pm.
