Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College men's soccer team traveled to Thousand Oaks to take on the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University and needed overtime to secure the 3-2 victory.
Whittier now runs their record to 7-8 overall and 7-5 in SCIAC, while Cal Lutheran now has a record of 3-14, and 3-9 in SCIAC.
Whittier jumped out early despite having a raucous crowd of almost 400 present, attacking and playing up tempo soccer as Patricio Carregha, Jonathan Palomino, and Kevin Hartsough got great looks on goal but were unable to convert.
Cal Lutheran then came down the field and in the 27th minute Josh Hibbert scored off of a rebound and took Poet goalkeeper David Diaz one on one and found the back of the net to put Cal Lutheran up 1-0 heading into the half.
Thirty minutes into the second half, Cal Lutheran then tacked on a second goal as Luis Santana scored off of a free kick taken five yards outside of the box. But Whittier wouldn't go away as they continued to pour on shots, as they outshot the Kingsmen 22-17 for the game.
Despite being down 2-0, Whittier continued to fight and continued to get opportunities because they knew sooner or later one would find the back of the net. In the 82nd minute Palomino was taken down in the box and connected on the penalty kick and his fourth goal of the season that cut the lead in half at 2-1.
Two minutes later, Whittier came back down the field as Adolfo Santos crossed in a ball to senior Sam Russell who took a strike from 8 yards out and connected on his fourth goal of the season forcing overtime.
In the first overtime, Whittier got a scare as Hibbert in the last two minutes took a shot that was saved by a diving Diaz. But Whittier then tightened up their defense and forced a second overtime where Palomino connected on his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season from just outside the penalty area clinching the victory for the Poets.
The Purple and Gold look forward to having a nice Sunday off and then coming back Monday to prepare to travel to Occidental on Wednesday, October 26 beginning at 4pm.
