Sophomore forward Dan Sargent scored the only goal of the game as #24 Westmont men’s soccer (12-6-2) defeated #21 Baker (Kan.) by a score of 1-0 in the second round of the NAIA National Men’s Soccer Championship. As a result, Westmont, which is seeded at number 11 in the tournament, will advance to the quarterfinals to take on seventh-ranked and fourteenth-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
The victory extends the Warriors win streak to seven and continues a remarkable post-season journey. The sixth seed in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, Westmont upended third-seeded Vanguard and second-seeded Concordia to earn a place in the conference championship against top-seeded Azusa Pacific.
But before the GSAC championship game could be played, the Tea Fire swept through Westmont’s Montecito campus, destroying nine buildings, 50 dorm rooms and 15 faculty homes. One team member lost his dorm room to the fire while another suffered water damage to his dorm. A third team member lost his off-campus housing to the fire. The home of head coach Dave Wolf, his wife Jill and their five children was among the faculty homes that were burned to the ground.
In a remarkable display of sportsmanship by Azusa Pacific, the GSAC championship game was delayed two days to allow Westmont to regroup after the fire. On Monday, November 17, Westmont defeated Azusa Pacific 2-0 in the championship, bringing an end to the season for the reigning national champions and earning a berth in the national championship.
Westmont was granted a first round home game, but with the campus still closed due to fire, the game was moved to Harder Stadium on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. In an emotional game played in front of 2,000 fans, the Warriors defeated Holy Names 3-2 in double-overtime.
Westmont’s unenviable road through the post-season faced another road bump when the team bus broke down on the way to Fresno. A trip that should have lasted about five hours, instead exceed sixteen. The Warriors missed the opening banquet and an opportunity to practice.
But they didn’t miss the game.
In just the eighth minute of the contest, sophomore Saul Moreno headed the ball to Sargent who in turn headed it into the net.
“The ball was crossed in by one of our wingers and a Baker’s defender cleared it out with a header,” said Moreno. “I was the only one at the top of the box and I saw the ball go straight up in the air. It was headed right for me so I was looking around to see where I should head it. Should I head it outside so we could get a cross, or head it in? Right before I headed it I saw Sarge darting towards the goalie. As I headed it I called, “Sarge”. The ball cleared their defender and Sarge was right on the goalie. Sarge hits it and chips the goalie. It was great.”
“Saul hit a great ball to me,” said Sargent. “I was just barely onside. I saw the goalie come out and just popped it over.”
Westmont keeper Justin Etherton notched his eighth shutout of the season, recording four saves in the process.
“I felt confident the whole game,” said Etherton. “We didn’t play our best; we could have put it away earlier. That made it a little tougher in the end. But it felt like we were in control. Defensively, it felt like we hadn’t played in a while, but after a couple of communication miscues we figured it out. Coach has been telling us from the beginning of the year that in the tournament you have to compete in the box.”
“My overall impression was that it wasn’t our best game,” agreed Wolf. “It is probably the first time this year that we didn’t play great against a quality opponent but still came away with a result. I think that says something about our resiliency, about our mental toughness and about our commitment to defend. We did a better job in the second half of closing up space and of reading situations better.”
Both teams took 15 shots during the contest which was played on a wet field due to overcast skies and a slight mist.
“I thought Baker was a very good and very athletic team,” noted Wolf. “Anything we didn’t do just right fundamentally put us in a bad spot. I thought we were all over the place in the first half. We did a better job in the second half of closing up space and of reading situations better.”
Mount Vernon Nazarene (17-3-2) advanced to tomorrow’s quarterfinal showdown with the Warriors by virtue of a 1-0 upset over #1 Lindsey Wilson. The Cougars are led in scoring by senior forward Adam Worrall who has recorded 23 goals and produced nine assists this season.
Baker concludes its season with a record of 14-7-2.
