SANTA BARBARA — An early goal from the Warriors’ Austin Lack was all that was needed for Westmont Men’s Soccer (1-1) to pick up its first win of the season. Goalkeeper Josh Glover earned the 1-0 shutout; posting four saves in the win over Westminster of Utah (5-1-1).
“The big take away was that we started very sharply, as we have on a number of occasions this year including our exhibition game,” explained Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “This time, we actually converted during that spell, which we hadn’t done. That felt like a step in the right direction. It was very nice to see Austin get a goal after having a number of chances in our opener.”
Lack’s goal came in the 10th minute of play and stood up for the win against a team that averaged two goals a game coming into today’s contest.
“Sebastian Kent played Austin a ball 30 yards away from the goal,” said Wolf, describing Lack’s goal. “Austin was down the middle of the field, but a little off to the left. He did a really nice job of turning the ball and he was able to beat his defender off the dribble. The keeper came out to close down the angle and may have touched a piece of the ball. However, Austin was able to put enough on the ball to get it by him.
“We were able to manage game from there,” continued the coach. “The conditions were very difficult – very warm. It’s not a great setting to be playing soccer in. The guys suffered a lot physically during the course of the afternoon but stuck together and found a way to get a win.”
Key to the Warriors’ victory was the play of Glover and the defensive backs.
“Josh made a couple of very sharp saves in the first half,” pointed out Wolf. “As Westminster started getting a little bit of momentum, we needed a couple of defensive scrambles and a couple of saves. Josh was up to the task. That was a very import part of keeping the clean sheet today. I also thought the guys that played in front of Josh did a good job too, and kept a lot of things from getting to him.”
Tomorrow the Warriors will return to The Master’s to take on Embry-Riddle of Arizona (2-0-1) who received votes in the NAIA Preseason National Coaches Poll.
“Embry-Riddle looked very sharp to me,” said Wolf who had a chance to observe the Eagles in the early game in Santa Clarita as they defeated The Master’s 3-2 in double overtime. “I think that will be a big test for us. Maybe one of the equalizers is that they had to play extra time against The Master’s today. Embry-Riddle is a team that is highly regarded nationally and has earned a reputation. If we want to be one of those guys, this is a game that can help you establish that pedigree.”
Kick-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
