Westmont men’s soccer opened the season with a 5-1 victory over Westminster of Utah (0-1) on Thursday as part of the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic. As a result of the Morris Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest above Azusa, the game was played at Al Barber Field on the campus of Biola University.
“It was a good result and it was nice to score some goals. It helps to develop confidence,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf.
Forward Doug Harrell gave the Warriors an early lead, scoring in the eleventh minute off a throw-in by sophomore defender Zach George. It was the first goal in a Warrior uniform for Harrell who is a sophomore transfer from The Master’s.
In the thirtieth minute, sophomore forward Daniel Torres passed the ball from 15 yards off the corner to the far side of the net where senior forward Andrew Schneider put the ball in the net to give Westmont a 2-0 lead.
But the coach was not entirely pleased with his team’s performance.
“It wasn’t a great game,” said Wolf, “The early goals were probably not helpful to us. No one said it, but I think that we thought things were going to be fairly easy. It showed up a little bit in our mentality. Instead of raising our game we were a bit lethargic and slow. At halftime we tried to communicate (to the team), ‘Don’t be duped into thinking that just because the game is 2-0 that you played well.’ In think in the second half we were a little bit sharper and we did a little bit better in some of the areas that we wanted to. I felt good about that response.”
In the second half, Schneider nearly scored again in the fifty-fifth minute. But Westminster keeper Val Campbell saved the shot that taken on a breakaway. However, the ball came loose and sophomore midfielder Daniel Guzman was there to finish the job and record his first collegiate goal.
In the seventieth minute, Westmont put together a four-on-three breakaway and scored again when senior midfielder Hugo Pizano passed the ball to junior forward Harrison Hill. Hill scored from 15 yards out to give Westmont a 4-0 advantage.
Westminster’s only goal came in the seventy-fourth minute of play when Isaac Green drove a 20-yard direct kick low to the far post.
Westmont’s final goal came with just under three minutes left in the game. Senior Dillon Barna, Westmont’s two-time All-GSAC defender, scored the first goal of his collegiate career on a penalty kick.
The Warriors out-shot the Griffins 21-8, placing 13 of their 21 shots on frame.
“That is obviously a real positive,” acknowledged Wolf. “The ball has to be put on frame in order to have a chance. I like that fact that we did that.”
Wolf also appreciated the fact that five different players scored goal and four different players recorded assists.
“Our team has a lot of attacking resources” said Wolf. “If we have multiple players that can score, that will be a real attribute.”
Freshman goalkeeper Matt McNab picked up his first collegiate victory, playing 73:55 minutes while allowing one goal.
Westmont returns to action on Saturday for their second game in the Cougar Classic. The Warriors are scheduled to take on #15 Simon Fraser (B.C.) at 12:30 p.m. on the Azusa Pacific campus if air quality allows.
“It will be a different game on Saturday,” predicted Wolf as he watch the second half of the game between Simon Fraser and #10 Azusa Pacific. “Both of these teams are really good. We will have to play at a different level in order to survive on Saturday.”
