RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Sept. 1, 2021) – A late offensive surge propelled the Whittier College men's soccer team to a season-opening win at Marymount University, 4-3, in double overtime.

In order for the Poets to have been in the position they found themselves in, they needed to erase two deficits. The second required the visitors to rally from two goals down in order to secure a shot at victory in the overtime periods, but that is exactly how things played out. The host Mariners scored their final goal of the game with 22 minutes to go in regulation, creating a 3-1 hole for the Poets to climb out of. From there, the visitors began to increase the offensive pressure, leading to a goal from senior Matt Slee (Bothell, Wash. / The Overlake School) that completely shifted the momentum of the game. Freshman midfielder Dominic Morello (Red Wood City, Calif. / Woodside) assisted on the strike.

Whittier managed to make lightning strike twice with just under three minutes to spare. This time, Nainoa Loschky (Bellevue, Wash. / Interlake) found the back of the net for the visiting team on a pass from sophomore midfielder Tommy Yarbrough (Encinitas, Calif. / La Costa Canyon). Both teams went on to endure a physical first overtime period that featured a combined three shots and four fouls. The physical play continued into the second 10-minute extra period, but the Poets eventually overcame the odds, scoring the clincher on another Yarbrough pass, this time to freshman forward Lawerence Dydell (Redmond, Wash. / Woodinville) at 106:39. Whittier's first goal of the game came at the 40th-minute mark when Morello found freshman midfielder Mateo Grau-Rodriguez (Berkeley, Calif. / Berkeley) to give the Poets some extra steam going into halftime. Junior goalkeeper Teddy Nickerson (Seattle, Wash. / O'Day) secured his first win of the season with a seven-save performance. All seven saves came in regulation, with the surrounding defense allowing nary a shot to reach the junior stopper in overtime.

Head Coach Shea Harwell and the Poets will look to carry the early-season momentum into a road meeting with Vanguard University on Saturday, Sept. 4.