Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
LA VERNE, Calif. – The Whittier College men's soccer team achieved their first win of the season in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener as they went into La Verne and stole the show 2-1 in an overtime thriller in front of 213 fans.
Whittier (1-3, 1-0 SCIAC) came into the game seeking their first win of the season and got it as they played aggressive soccer throughout the entire game due in large part to them outshooting La Verne 18-16 for the game, while Francis Maxwell and Patricio Carregha got two shots on goal apiece.
La Verne got onto the scoreboard first as Abdullah Alharshan got a corner kick from Brent Chamberlain in the 39th minute and knocked it in the upper right corner of the goal to put the Leopards up 1-0 and the lead going into the half.
But this lead would soon diminish as the Poets came roaring back in the second half outshooting the Leopards 10-9 and achieving a corner kick that would end up being the equalizer as Ian Cromwell sent a ball into the box for Srdan Jovanovic to knock in for his first goal of the season and to help the Poets tie the game up at one a piece in the final minutes of the second half.
After the regulation horn sounded, overtime loomed in the distance but the Poets were determined to get their first win of the season and three minutes into the extra period, junior Adolfo Santos sent in a ball into the box for Jovanovic to knock in from six yards out for his second goal of the game and the second of the season.
The purple and gold look to continue to play good soccer as they take on the Beavers of the California Institute of Technology on Saturday, September 17 beginning at 7pm.
