LA VERNE, CA – The University of La Verne men's soccer team battled the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in a nail-biting 1-1 draw.
Playoff Push
Tensions ran high at Ortmayer Stadium Wednesday night as major playoff implications loomed for both squads. The Leopards currently sit in third place in the SCIAC, just a point behind the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags. With their final regular-season game coming up, the Leopards need a win and either a loss or draw by CMS to reach second place. La Verne can finish no worse than third place.
Game Time
?The Leopards controlled possession for most of the first half in a physical and intense game. The Sagehens and Leopards combined for 25 fouls by full-time. A couple of missed opportunities from both squads left the first half of play at 0-0.
The intensity continued in the second half. Both ends stifled close opportunities. However, in the 69th minute, a pristine cross from
Kevin Arreola found
Isaiah Barber deep in Sagehen territory. Barber poked the ball through for the first the game's first score as Ortmayer erupted in cheers from patient fans. Barber earned his third goal of the season, and Arreola picked up his third assist.
The Sagehens played behind for 20 minutes until, with just two minutes remaining, a Leopard handball inside the penalty box gave the Sagehens the opportunity they needed. The Sagehens scored the penalty to tie the game 1-1, which remained the score until the final whistle blew.
Next Game
The Leopards return to Ortmayer on Halloween for a dramatic finish to the regular season against the first-place University of Redlands Bulldogs. Kick-off is Saturday at 4 .pm.
Senior Day
Before the game, the Leopards celebrated their seniors with a ceremony joined by the families of the soon-to-be graduates. Thirteen players participated in the ceremony, including
Joshua McCowan,
Hernan Sevilla,
Uli Sevilla,
Isaiah Barber,
Kevin Arreola,
Marcos Zambrano,
Juan Manzano,
Diego Soto,
Alexander Bastidas,
Aiden Tapia-Palacios,
Carlos Cervantes,
Gerardo Raya, and
Joshua Simonton.
