LA VERNE, CA — The University of La Verne's men's soccer team dominated SCIAC foe Caltech 3-1 at home on Saturday night in their second annual Pack the Stands night.
Three highlight-reel goals from the Leopards stole the show.
The Leopards struck first with senior forward Diego Soto scoring within the first five minutes, assisted by seniors Juan Manzano and Kevin Arreola. Arreola sent a long pass to Manzano, who lofted a pass from the outside of the box towards the far side of the goal. The ball appeared to be drifting out of bounds, but Soto waited in perfect position and tapped the shot in.
The Leopards returned to the net, scoring two goals within five minutes at the 31-minute mark. Junior Joel Trejo scored a solo goal with a long shot from 40 yards out that floated over the goalkeeper to raise the score 2-0. The goal was a shade of his make from midfield at Cal Lutheran.
Trejo assisted Manzano shortly after to continue the Leopards' dominance with the third goal of the night, all within the first half. Trejo again used his long-range touch, this time sending a pass outside the edge of the box towards Manzano. Caltech's keeper raced out but couldn't collect the ball. Manzano turned and sent a left-footed shot to the back left corner of the net.
Caltech scored its lone goal in the second half to make it 3-1.
La Verne recorded six shots on goal on 18 total attempts. Kai Garza and Trejo led the team with three shots each.
This win raises the men's soccer team's overall season record to 5-4-4 and conference record to 3-2-2.
The Leopards will travel to Pomona-Pitzer next in Claremont on Wednesday, October 14 at 4 p.m.
