Senior defender Dillon Barna scored two goals in a Westmont men’s soccer victory over Hope International (5-8-3, 0-7-1 GSAC) on Saturday in Fullerton. The 2-1 win gives the Warriors a 6-6 overall record and improves their conference mark to 4-4.
“This is a season where I’ve seen a lot of odd things happen,” said Westmont Head Coach Dave Wolf. “Today just seemed like a continuation of those oddities.
Hope International scored in the twenty-second minute when Jesus Ramos passed a free kick to Bran Edgar. Edgar forwarded the pass to Matthew Howard in the box who scored with one touch.
Barna scored just two minutes later on a shot from midfield that was mishandled by Royal goalkeeper Matt Fike.
“There were definitely difficult field conditions and that may have contributed to the goal,” said Wolf. “Our game is predicated on the ability to pass the ball which was not facilitated by those conditions. Today’s game was very direct with a lot of headers. I told the guys at halftime that we had caught a couple of breaks and that I was glad they had taken advantage of those breaks.”
Barna’s second goal came in the fifty-second minute. After being fouled in the box, Barna lined up for the penalty kick and scored the game winner.
As a result of today’s win, the Warriors have clinched a spot in the Golden State Athletic Conference postseason tournament. With two games remaining in the conference schedule, the Warriors are currently in seventh place with 12 points (three points for a win, one for a tie). Westmont is one point behind sixth place Fresno Pacific (8-5-1, 4-3-1 GSAC) and two points behind fifth place Vanguard (7-5-3, 4-2-2 GSAC).
The Warriors will host their final regular season home game of the year on Wednesday when they host #22 The Master’s (12-2-1, 7-1) who is currently in first place in the conference. Kickoff is scheduled for three o’clock at Lovik Field.
