Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
PASADENA, Calif. - Scoring more than two goals in a game for the first time this season, the Whittier College men's soccer team defeated the Beavers of Caltech 5-1 in Pasadena Saturday afternoon as they earned their second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory.
Saturday also saw two forwards find the back of the net for the first time, which included senior Lucas Depinna (Portland, Ore.) and freshman Connor Tait-Mole (Livermore, Calif.). Depinna scored twice in the first half and Tait-Mole put the finishing touches on the victory with the final tally.
Both Depinna's goals came in the first 26 minutes. The first came off a shot taken outside of the 18 yard box, eight minutes in. The second came off a header in the 25th minute that the forward nodded home past the Caltech keeper from a corner.
The Beavers pulled back within one in the first half when Marec Serlin put one beyond the reach of Whittier goalkeeper Jorge Rivas (Lake Forest, Calif.) to make it 2-1 with ten minutes remaining before the intermission.
Whittier came out in the second half and put their lead back to two after a goal from junior Dylan Fortin (San Diego, Calif.), who collected a pass from Depinna and then finished from 18 yards out.
The Purple & Gold then scored two goals in a matter of minutes to squelch any hope of a Caltech comeback. Senior defender Brian Russell (Gig Harbor, WA) added his second goal of the season scoring off of a free kick from 25 yards out. Tait-Mole then added the final blow as he got on the end of a Jacob Schaniel (San Diego, Calif.) cross into the 6 yard box before burying the ball in the back of the net for his second of the contest.
Whittier outshot Caltech 18-10 and held the advantage on corner kicks 8-3. Depinna, Fortin, and James Suri (Lake Forest, Calif.) led the offensive attack with four shots apiece, while freshman keeper Oscar Sowell (Vista, Calif.) played the final 17 minutes between the posts keeping the victory intact.
The win puts the Poets at 4-1-1 (2-1-1 SCIAC). They remain on the road this Wednesday, September 24th when they take on Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 4:00pm.
