Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Men's Soccer team couldn't hold a 1-0 lead midway through the second half as they fell 2-1 in double overtime to Claremont-M-S.
It was a battle for first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Standings and CMS was able to come from behind to pull off the overtime victory that gives them at least a share of the regular season SCIAC Title. They can clinch it outright with a win or a tie against Caltech this Saturday.
The Purple & Gold looked poised to win the program's first SCIAC Championship Title but now set their sights to this Saturday, November 2 when they host Occidental College with seeding on the line for the SCIAC Tournament. If they win they will host a first round game in the SCIAC Tournament as a No. 2 seed. A loss Saturday and a Redlands victory will move Whittier into 3rd Place and they will have to travel to Redlands to take on the Bulldogs.
The game-winner in the second overtime period came from Ethan Tyng who battled for a loose ball outside the penalty area and played a short ball forward to William Barton. Barton brought the ball down with his left foot across his body, let it bounce in front of him, and cracked a right-footed shot from 20 yards out that took one hop and settled inside the left post for the game-winner.
After a scoreless first half the Poets would find the back of the net two minutes into the second from Banks Telkamp (Seattle, WA). Following a deflection, Telkamp would gather it and would take a strike, which would ricochet off the side post and past a diving Stag keeper Eduardo De Anda. The defensive unit for the Purple & Gold were then forced to play big seven minutes later denying the Stags three looks on frame, two of which were made by defenders in front of an open goal. The eventual equalizer came in the 75th minute. Barton won a header on a 50-50 ball to play it through to the weak side. Once it got through, Nate Huntington was able to settle it and blast a right-footed shot inside the left post to knot the score up at 1-1 with 15:06 left in regulation.
Both teams had chances for dramatic game-winners right before the buzzer. At the end of regulation, a loose ball pinged around the box for several seconds before Whittier's Matteo Loi (Kirkland, WA) got on the end of it from six yards out, but he lifted the shot over the bar.
At the end of the first overtime CMS earned a look as Tyng came down the left wing and had his shot saved by Poet keeper Teddy Nickerson (Seattle, WA) before Huntington came sliding in after the rebound and pushed his shot inches wide.
Claremont-M-S held the advantage on shots at 21-17 and corner kicks at 5-2. Nickerson played all 102:16 and finished with four saves.
Whittier wraps up their 2019 regular season schedule this Saturday, November 2 when they host Occidental College beginning at 7:00pm.
