Tanner Wolf scored one of the biggest goals of his life on Saturday, beating the goalkeeper with one second left on the clock in regulation time to lift Westmont to a 1-0 win over visiting Arizona Christian in a GSAC men’s soccer match on Saturday at Thorrington Field.
Wolf ran onto to a diagonal ball served by Koby McInally and struck it with two seconds remaining on the clock. The ball passed the Arizona Christian goalkeeper and rolled into the side netting for a stunning ending to the game. Westmont players dog-piled on Wolf, a local product from Santa Barbara High.
“The boys did a great job getting the ball back in the box,” said Wolf. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Moments before the goal, Wolf sent a corner kick into the box, but the Warriors couldn’t get a shot off and Arizona Christian successfully cleared the ball.
“The boys had been patient all day,” noted Wolf. “We kept playing our game. We defended well and in the end, we got what we deserved.”
“I thought the team played beautifully from minute one to minute 90,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf, Tanner’s father. “Ironically, it took us until the 90th minutes to get the reward for that.”
The Warriors’ defense had kept them in the game long enough for the final heroics. The Firestorm were allowed just four shots. The only shot on goal was saved by freshman goalkeeper Spencer Petty who earned his first collegiate shutout.
“I thought we stayed disciplined the entire time,” said coach Wolf. “Our back four were rock solid. Spencer did a good job of organizing the defense. He is a really calm goalkeeper – very relaxed, very confident.”
The Warriors (7-9-1, 4-1-1 GSAC) will next play on Saturday, October 18 when they host Concordia (8-3, 4-1) on Homecoming. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
