Senior Jake Joyner made the most of Senior Day by scoring twice in Westmont men’s soccer’s 4-0 win over San Diego Christian (2-12, 0-8 GSAC) on Saturday at Russ Carr Field. The Warriors (6-6-2, 3-4-2 GSAC) pounded away at the Hawks’ goal, producing a 30-5 shot advantage including 12-0 shots-on-goal.
“We played a lineup today which was more attack oriented,” said head coach Dave Wolf. “We started Hugo (Pizano) and Tony (Niboli) together (in the central midfield). They want to play together and we are at our best when we are playing together, but we have to take care of our defending responsibilities. When you play with three forwards and then those two together, it is a much more attack-oriented line up. Today was a day that we felt that we could do that. It produced lots of chances. I thought Hugo was especially on his game passing the ball today.”
Joyner started the scoring in the twenty-eighth minute of play after receiving a well placed pass from fellow senior Jonathon Schoff.
“Schoffy played a good ball to me,” said Joyner. “I cut the defender, took time to see where it was at and said, ‘it’s happening’.”
After displacing the defender, Joyner was one-on-one with the Hawks’ keeper and delivered the ball to the left side of the net.
“We moved the ball well,” said Joyner. “Hugo played really well. He played a lot of balls through which helped us get shots-on-goal. When our midfield is working, we can play with anybody. ”
“I thought it was really important to get the first goal in the first half when we had so many good looks,” said Wolf.
But it wasn’t until the second minute of the second half that the Warriors extended their lead. Sophomore Saul Moreno took a shot from 35 yards out in the center of the field and found the corner of the net to notch his first collegiate goal.
In the seventy-fourth minute, freshman Henry Sarmiento also connected for the first goal of his college career. Sarmiento took a free kick from 30 yards out on the left-hand side and drilled it into the goal.
Two minutes later, Joyner made the score 4-0 with his second goal of the day. After smashing a shot which bounced off the keeper, Joyner took advantage of a defensive error in clearing the ball and his second shot found its target.
“If you look at Jake’s last goal, he had two good ball strikes that were on goal,” said Wolf. “He hit the first strike a hundred miles an hour. The keeper saved it but Jake was able to finish the second chance. If it’s a good ball strike that is on frame, eventually you will get your reward and he did today. It’s the same for Saul and Henry, if their shots weren’t on goal, they don’t go in. Good ball striking that is on goal gives you a chance.”
Because of the score, Wolf was able to clear his bench and give everyone a chance to play.
“There were some nice firsts to celebrate,” said Wolf. “Henry and Saul scored their first college goals, Zach George had his first start, and it was nice to get some of the guys in who haven’t played and give them their first college experience.”
The Warriors will conclude the regular season on Saturday, November 1 when the travel to Riverside to take on California Baptist (7-5-3, 3-3-2 GSAC). Westmont is currently tied with California Baptist for sixth place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings with 11 points. With a win on Saturday, Westmont will secure a place in the upcoming GSAC Tournament.
GSAC STANDINGS:
School
GSAC
Overall
Record
Pct.
Points
Record
Pct.
Concordia (19)
7-2
0.778
21
10-5-1
0.656
Azusa Pacific (3)
6-1-1
0.813
19
10-3-3
0.719
Vanguard (14)
6-1-1
0.813
19
8-4-2
0.643
The Masters (RV)
4-1-3
0.687
15
9-1-4
0.786
Fresno Pacific (RV)
4-3-1
0.562
13
8-4-1
0.654
California Baptist
3-3-2
0.500
11
7-5-3
0.567
Westmont
3-4-2
0.444
11
6-6-2
0.500
Hope International
2-5-1
0.313
7
8-5-2
0.600
Point Loma Nazarene
2-5-1
0.313
7
6-8-2
0.438
Biola
1-5-2
0.250
5
6-6-2
0.500
San Diego Christian
0-8
0.000
0
2-12
0.143
