WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier Poets hosted the CalTech Beavers on Wednesday night and emerged victorious in a tightly contested 3-2 battle, overcoming two separate deficits to secure the win.
Whittier's offense came out firing, generating three shots within the opening six minutes of play.
Shortly after, the Beavers responded with an attack of their own, breaking through in the 14th minute to take an early 1-0 lead.
The Poets looked to answer quickly with a shot on goal, but their attempt was turned away by the CalTech goalkeeper.
Both offenses continued to push the pace throughout the first half, with Whittier goalkeeper Diego Saldivar making several crucial saves to keep the deficit at one.
Despite holding a 10-7 advantage in shots, the Poets entered halftime trailing 1-0.
Whittier struggled to generate scoring opportunities during the opening 10 minutes of the second half before Nicolas Coop broke through in the 55th minute, finding the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.
Just two minutes later, CalTech responded with another goal, reclaiming the advantage at 2-1 in the 57th minute.
The Poets refused to back down, answering in the 59th minute with a spectacular strike from Fabian Gluch. The midfielder unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box that sailed past the Beavers' goalkeeper to level the match at 2-2. Kevin Bravo was credited with the assist.
With the score tied, both teams continued to press forward in search of the go-ahead goal.
In the 75th minute, Nils Degardin delivered the decisive blow, launching a rocket from outside the box that found the back of the net and gave Whittier its first lead of the night at 3-2.
Jack Hindmarsh provided the assist on Degardin's game-winning goal.
CalTech made a late push for an equalizer, but Saldivar and the Poets' defense held firm, preserving the one-goal advantage through the final whistle.
Whittier finished the high-scoring contest with a 21-11 advantage in shots, while Saldivar turned in another strong performance between the posts, recording six saves.
Gluch and Coop each tallied their third goal of the season, while Degardin registered his second.
The Poets will now travel to Los Angeles to take on the Occidental College Tigers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. Catch all the action on FloCollege.
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