WHITTIER, Calif. (Aug. 30, 2024) – Freshman
Anthony Dolce (Salt Lake City, Utah / East) burst onto the scene as a player to watch this year, earning three points to help the Whittier College men's soccer team defeat Albion College, 5-0, in Friday's home opener.
The Britons ranked as a mid-level team in the MIAA back in 2023, but the Poets took it to them in more ways than one, eventually earning their largest margin of victory since 2017. Whittier beat Caltech 5-0 that year. This time, the Poets took out a more complete team, and received vital contributions from both newcomers and returners.
Senior outside back
Dominic Morello (Redwood City, Calif. Woodside) opened scoring for the Poets after freshman striker
Owen Nance (Salt Lake City, Utah / East) drew a penalty inside the box at roughly the 12th minute. Morello, the Poets' captain, lobbed his penalty kick into the upper left quadrant of the goal, fooling the opposing keeper and putting the Purple & Gold on top early. A common theme for the home team would involve them making their own luck with big effort plays in front of the opposing net. That couldn't have been more true on the second goal, when sophomore
Nils Degardin (Paris, France / Lake Washington) successfully crashed the Britons' net from the left side to double his team's lead in the first half.
Dolce, the Poets' rookie defender, hit the scoresheet in the 22nd minute on a beautifully placed free kick that ricocheted off the left post with authority and past the opposing keeper. However, Dolce's initial goal, the first of his career, would be far from his only offensive contribution of the night. In the second half, Dolce was the last to touch a bouncing ball in front of the Britons' net that the head official ruled over the line. That goal came in the 58th minute, and though the game was firmly out of hand at that point, Dolce stayed aggressive, delivering a picture perfect pass to midfielder
Bobo Andersson (Bjärnum, Sweden / Haessleholms Tekniska Skola), who became the first of several international Poets to score this season in the 71st minute. The chances didn't stop there, as freshman forward
Mikael Naesheim (Stavanger, Norway / Hetland) and junior midfielder
Rowan Slater (Fort Collins, Colo. / Poudre) each had prime scoring opportunities in front of them at varying points of the game.
Perhaps just as impressively was the Poets' effort defensively. Sophomore goalkeeper
Breckon Robirds (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) drew the start, but didn't face any shots thanks to the Poets' ability to win the ball in the midfield and create traffic in the middle. Center backs
Chris Flores (Sylmar, Calif. / Birmingham Community Charter | Los Angeles Mission College) and
Gustav Lind (Stockholm, Sweden / Bromma Gymnasium) brought a blend of physicality and finesse to the position that caused a failure to launch within the Britons' offense. It wasn't until the game's waning minutes that senior
Anthony Chavoya, who subbed in for Robirds as the half, stopped the visitors' only shot on net.
Head Coach
Shea Harwell and the Poets will look to show they can be every bit as great on the road when they travel to the University of California, Santa Cruz on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
