Westmont outshot Hope International by a margin of 23-9 in Saturday’s Golden State Athletic Conference game at Thorrington Field, but the Warriors had to settle for a 1-1 men’s soccer tie after two overtime periods.
It was a game Westmont head coach Dave Wolf hoped to pick up three points in the conference standings.
“I told the guys that we had an opportunity to take a big step today in the direction of the postseason,” said Wolf. “What we ended up with was a small half-step. It still is a small half-step because it is a team that is behind us and they didn’t gain ground on us.”
Westmont’s lone goal came in the 65th minute when Nana Akyen got possession of the ball and dribble toward the net before burying the ball in the lower left corner from 10 yards out.
Hope (7-8- 1, 2-5-1) equalized in the 77th minute. Edgar Bran received a pass from Jesus Ramos, then scored from eight yards.
“I think the frustration for me is that we have played eight GSAC games now and had no shutouts,” said Wolf. “In all but two of our games, we have scored first and have not been able to see out the game. For whatever reason, we lack some maturity. In order to weather storms and pitch shutouts, you have to have a mature team.
“We have a lot of mature guys,” clarified the coach, “but somehow that doesn’t get into our club. Scott Williams and Dan Sargent are as mature as any two college kids you’d want to meet. But somehow we can’t get their personal characteristics (from) off the field into the team on the field.”
As a result of the tie, the Warriors (7-3-5, 2-3-3) have given up any chance of a first-round home game in the upcoming GSAC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, Nov. 3. Instead, they find themselves fighting for a place in the field of eight tournament participants.
Currently, the Warriors are tied with Point Loma Nazarene (6-9, 3-6) for seventh place in the conference standings.
