Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
Article by: Max Klein
WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier College men's soccer team lost their second straight contest Saturday afternoon as they were held scoreless against the Stags of Claremont-M-S, losing 4-0.
With the loss the Poets drop to 4-3-1, 2-3-1 SCIAC, while CMS improves to 4-1-1, 4-1-1 SCIAC.
The game opened with the Poets controlling the tempo for the first ten minutes and looking to make chances early. CMS came back strong though, getting their first goal in the 15th minute from Taylor Lemmon coming off of a corner kick, which he deflected into the goal.
Whittier did well the rest of the first half, regaining the momentum. Freshman forward Connor Tait-Mole (Livermore, Calif.) just barely missed heading home a throw in from senior Alonso Caballero (Woodburn, Ore.) in the 37th minute. Freshman Jacob Schaniel (San Diego, Calif.) then forced a good save from Claremont keeper Alex Choi four minutes later when he almost put a loose ball in the box into the back of the net.
The first thirty minutes of the second half were equally split between the two sides in terms of both possession and chances. Sophomore goalkeeper Jorge Rivas (Lake Forest, Calif.) was called into action multiple times for the Poets to make sure the deficit stayed at one goal.
But in the 79th minute, Claremont won a free kick on the right flank. After a good delivery into the box, the ball was put in the goal from Mark Harris as the Stags extended their lead to two goals.
Three minutes later, Rivas was again asked to make a save to keep Whittier within striking range. He parried the shot out to the right side of his goal, but a CMS player was there and appeared to use his arm to push the ball behind Rivas to make it 3-0. There were numerous appeals for handball from the Whittier side, but no call was given.
Not two minutes after the third goal did CMS strike again, padding an already large lead to put the finishing touches on the game.
Lucas Depinna (Portland, Ore.), Dylan Fortin (San Diego, Calif.), and James Suri (Lake Forest, Calif.) led the offense with two shots a piece, while Rivas collected seven saves against 11 shots.
The Poets return to action this coming Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00pm, when they host the University of Redlands.
