Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College men's soccer team kept their playoff hopes alive with a victory over the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University Saturday evening as Srdan Jovanovic was able to head the Poets to the victory with two goals to add to his SCIAC lead.
Whittier now improves to 7-10, 7-6 SCIAC play and splits with Cal Lutheran during the regular season after their narrow 2-1 loss at home back on September 26.
Poet goalkeeper David Diaz was issued a Red Card in the first four minutes of play for clipping a Cal Lutheran forward as they made their way for a ball just outside the box. This forced Whittier to play a man down for the rest of the game totaling 86 minutes.
Due to injuries to back up goalies Mason Portalski and Peter Van Lier, Head Coach Shea Harwell was forced to put in position player Taylor Ayres between the posts and what a game he had, collecting 9 saves in his first win of the season.
The Purple & Gold capitalized off of two free kick opportunities with both occurring with the same outcome. Brian Russell took both free kicks from just out on the wing and put in both balls into the box that Jovanovic headed in for both Whittier goals.
Cal Lutheran proved to be the aggressor all night long on both sides of the ball outshooting the Poets 28-10 for the game, while having their goalkeeper Jack Duncan not face a Poet shot on goal all night long.
Whittier got on the scoreboard first in the 20th minute from Jovanovic but saw Raul Yepez for CLU answer with the equalizer in the final five seconds of the first half when he dribbled the ball into the box and found the back of the goal from ten yards out.
The game remained scoreless throughout the second half until Jovanovic was able to find an opening in the Kingsmen defense in the 80th minute allowing him to connect on his second goal of the contest putting Whittier in front 2-1, which proved to be the final score despite Cal Lutheran putting four shots on frame in the final ten minutes of play.
Whittier looks to build upon this win as they host the Beavers of the California Institute of Technology, Monday, October 22 beginning at 7:00pm.
