Westmont won its first men’s soccer match in the GSAC in impression fashion.
The Warriors erupted for four goals in the second half and routed No. 19-ranked Biola 5-0 on Saturday at Thorrington Field.
Gerald Ben was sensational for Westmont (4-4-1, 1-2-1 GSAC), scoring two goals and assisting on two others. Nana Akyen also scored two goals.
Westmont’s first goal was scored in the 13th minute by Ben. Muhammad Mehai sent the ball forward to Ben near the left-hand side line. A Biola defender mistimed an attempted interception on Mehai’s pass, giving Ben an opportunity to dribble down the left field line.
Ben shook another Eagle defender to find himself all alone in the corner. He then took a couple of steps before drilling a low line-drive toward the goal. The ball squirted through the keeper’s hands, then through the wickets for the score.
The second goal followed one of Biola’s 10 corner kick opportunities. Westmont’s Blake Joyner cleared the ball out from in front of the goal, sending it to Ben on the left side line. Ben eluded a defender, and then passed the ball to the center of the field to a sprinting Akyen. Akyen beat another defender and pushed the ball past the keeper.
Three minutes later, Isaac Veenstra intercepted a free kick from 10 yards away and then passed the ball ahead to Ben. When the Biola keeper came out of the goal, Ben pushed the ball past him toward the end line on the left side of the goal.
After recovering the ball, Ben passed it to Veenstra in front of the goal. Though an Eagle defender poked the ball away from Veenstra, it came to the feet of a charging Jonathan Yeeles who placed the ball in the right side netting.
In the 82nd minutes, Joyner cleared a ball from in front of the Warrior goal to the center of the field. Ben won the ball from a defender and then raced down the field to go one-on-one with the keeper. Ben fired the ball into the right side of the goal.
The final goal came three and one-half minutes later on a penalty kick. Yeeles forwarded the ball to Akyen who dribbled between two Eagle defenders. Akyen directed the ball right, leaving his defenders running the wrong direction. The Biola keeper came out of the goal and tackled the junior midfielder at a point when the ball was another three yards ahead of Akyen.
Akyen was awarded a penalty kick and converted. The Biola keeper got a hand on it, but could not control it and it slipped underneath his grasp.
While Westmont’s offense was providing plenty of cushion, goalkeeper Matthew McNab was earning his first shutout of the season. McNab recorded seven saves.
In other GSAC action, Hope International (7-4-1, 1-2-1) defeated The Master’s (5-7, 1-3) by a score of 2-0 while #6 Concordia (10-1-1, 4-0) survived a battle with San Diego Christian (6-3-1, 2-1-1), outscoring the Hawks 4-3. Vanguard (5-5-2, 3-0-1) posted a 4-0 victory over Arizona Christian (3-7-1, 0-4).
