Westmont’s soccer team tasted defeat in its first official game of the season Saturday as the Warriors fell to the Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 3-1.
On a hot afternoon at Thorrington Field, Westmont found themselves trailing just five minutes into the game after Stags’ midfielder Mehron Abdi netted a header off of a throw-in by defender Daniel Beer.
Westmont head coach Dave Wolf expressed that Abdi’s early goal, along with the heat, created an enormous hurdle for the Warriors to overcome.
“Conceding the early goal was going to make it a long day,” he said. “From the start, we were in an immediate fight-back position. It was a warm day, so our physical exertion had to go up, which made it even more difficult to rally back.”
Nonetheless, Wolf did praise his team when it came to their tenacity and dedication to keep up the fight and not back down after the early setback.
“Even when a comeback didn’t look likely, there was still a lot of fight in the team. I was very encouraged by that.”
A fine individual effort by Nana Ayken netted the Warriors’ first goal of the season in the 63rd minute. Akyen broke down four CMS defenders and buried a short into the right corner of the net from eight yards out.
Westmont had similar opportunities in the 59th, 68th, and 71st minutes, but none would come to fruition.
Ultimately, a third goal by Stags’ midfielder Michael Crowley – a converted header from two yards off of a deflected corner – would put the game out of reach.
