Facing a must-win situation to stay in the hunt for a postseason playoff spot, the Westmont men’s soccer team elevated its game and scored two goals in the second half to beat Point Loma 3-1 in a Golden State Athletic Conference match Saturday in San Diego.
The win moved Westmont to 2-3-1 (7 points) in the GSAC and 7-3-3 overall. The Warriors leaped over two teams and into seventh place in the standings. Pt. Loma is 5-8 overall, 2-5 in the conference.
Doug Harrell broke a 1-1 tied in the 64th minute by getting on the end of a Gustavo Hernandez free kick in the box and scoring.
Nana Ayken made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute on a fine individual effort. He stole the ball at midfield, drove in on goal and beat Sea Lions’ goalkeeper Carter Phillips from point-blank range
The Warriors played one of their best defensive games of the year, holding Pt. Loma to just three shots.
Westmont took a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute when Harrell headed Ayken’s corner kick past Phillips for the goal.
The Warriors maintained the lead until Pt. Loma midfielder Griffin Fuller got past the defense and slotted a pass to Tyler Hall in front of the box at the 53 minute mark. Hall then pushed the ball into the net to even the score.
Westmont quickly recovered from the goal and regained control of the game.
The Warriors’ performance was a big turnaround from their last game, a 4-1 home loss against Fresno Pacific.
The schedule doesn’t get easier for Westmont. It’s next match is at home against Azusa Pacific, which fell out of a tie for the top spot on Saturday by falling to co-leader Cal Baptist 1-0.
