Westmont Men’s Soccer (3-2) earned its first win at home this season, posting a 3-2 win over Marymount California (2-3-2) on Tuesday afternoon at Thorrington Field.
The Warriors fell behind in the 13th minute when the Mariners’ Jonas Springer received a pass from Kevin Faye on the right side and drilled it into the Warriors’ net.
“I was proud of the way the guys were able to get on steady ground after the first 15 minutes,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “I thought we weren’t very alert out of the gate and they were on us. Even after they scored, we were able to keep fairly level and slowly work our way back into the game until we scored. After we scored, I thought we were pretty good.”
That first Westmont score came in the 37th minute after Tanner Wolf forwarded a pass to Matt Lariviere on the right side. Lariviere beat a defender on the dribble and then outmaneuvered the Marymount goalkeeper before firing into an empty net from 25 yards out.
“We felt like there were some possibilities for us down the right side of the field,” said Wolf. “Matt consistently creates danger. That is partially his pace and partially his desire. He had to do a fair bit from a technical standpoint to score the goal.”
Westmont took the lead in the 20th minute of the second half. Rodrigo Diaz-Valdes received a throw-in from the left sideline and passed the ball to Wolf. The junior midfielder in turn passed the ball to Wilton Quintero who fired a bullet from 28 yards away that bounced underneath the keeper.
“Tanner played a big role in both of the first two goals with the passes that he played,” said the elder Wolf. “The ball that Tanner was able to deliver to Wilton was technically a really good exchange. He settled a difficult ball and got it delivered to Wilton very quickly. Wilton has developed a good long-range shot. On the his goal, you see a guy that gets rewarded for shooting.”
Westmont added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute and, as it turned out, later cashed in the policy. Cody Howen picked up a ball near midfield, drove to the top of the box with two defenders in tow, and then passed across to Jonathan Yeeles. From 16 yards out, Yeeles deposited in ball in the back left corner to put the Warriors up 3-1.
“The third goal felt like the clincher at the time, but it turned out to be the game winner,” noted Wolf. “Cody Howen did a lot of the work. He has been excellent the last two games. His carry of the ball and his tight control on the dribble and his ability to find Jonny on the end of all of that activity was excellent.
“Jonny is a great ball striker,” continued Wolf. “When his feet are right and he is technically solid, he hits a heavy ball. It was a really good goal with a couple of seniors linking up.”
Less than two minutes later, the Mariners, who outshot the Warriors 21-10, narrowed the margin to just one goal when Marymount’s Jorge Cervantes found the netting from 23 yards away. However, the Warriors were able to stave off the late rally and bank their third win of the season.
The game brought to an end the non-conference season for the Warriors who begin Golden State Athletic Conference play on Saturday by hosting GSAC newcomer William Jessup.
“The challenge to the guys today was to build momentum for the start of league play,” said Wolf. “This team has played well enough to have won all five of its game so far. What felt more important than winning the game today was winning a home game – we let the first two slip through our hands.
“If you are going to be a team that plays in the postseason, you have to take care of business at home and then steal games on the road – a win here, a draw there. We told them after last Saturday, ‘All .500 gets you is an early banquet’.”
Regarding entering GSAC play, Wolf expressed optimism about his team.
“We have had good preparation,” said the veteran coach. “I like this team a lot. I think there is lots of quality in this group. I think our self-belief is growing and I think we can do a lot of damage this year in the GSAC.”
It all starts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Westmont’s Thorrington Field.
