Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

ORANGE, Calif. (Oct. 20, 2021) – The Whittier College men's soccer team showed how strong of a defensive team it can be once again when it took on Chapman University on Wednesday night.

The youthful defense in front of junior goalkeeper Teddy Nickerson (Seattle, Wash. / O'Dea) came up big, particularly early by limiting the quality of chances for the host Panthers. In fact, by holding Chapman scoreless over the first 45 minutes, Wednesday marked the fourth-consecutive game Whittier has held its opponents off the scoreboard in the first half of games this season. However, after the Panthers broke through in the 48th minute, the Poets were forced to play catch-up and did manage to challenge the home team late. Senior midfielder Parker McDonald (Corona, Calif. / Santiago) led Whittier with two total shots, while freshmen Dominic Morello (Redwood City, Calif. / Woodside) and Jackson Busby (Lake Stevens, Wash. / Lake Stevens) joined McDonald as Poets to test the Panthers with a shot on net. Nickerson, meanwhile finished the game with six saves between the pipes for Whittier.

Head Coach Shea Harwell and the Poets will return home for some non-conference fare on Sunday, Oct. 24 when they host the University of California, Santa Cruz for a noon kick-off. 

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