Clear skies and sunshine greeted the Westmont men's soccer team as they took Thorrington Field for their home opener on Saturday. The Rocky Mountain (Mont.) Battlin' Bears, however, were the ones beaming at the end of the game, walking away with the 4-0 victory in the second game of the Twelfth Annual Heritage Club Classic.
Rocky Mountain controlled the tempo early on and got off three shots within the first twenty minutes. The Westmont defense had difficulty clearing the ball, and it cost them in the twenty-first minute, when midfielder Mikey Wall netted the rebound off of forward Oliver Gore's header.
Having fallen behind 1-0, Westmont countered aggressively, and gained some momentum. Midfielder Nana Akyen sliced his way through the defense and was fouled, resulting in a yellow card for Rocky Mountain and a free kick for Westmont in the twenty-fifth minute. Westmont failed to convert, and the Battlin' Bears responded two minutes later, as midfielder James Voisey passed from the right corner to Gore. From 10 yards out, Gore made a move and then slotted the ball just inside the near post past the outstretched arms of Westmont goalkeeper Andrew Singer.
As the first half came to a close, Westmont made an offensive push. All six of Westmont's shots in the first half came in the last ten minutes of the period. Goalkeeper Joachim Soderstrom and the Rocky Mountain defense stood their ground, though, and the game went into halftime at 2-0.
It didn't take long for Rocky Mountain to put the Warriors away, as Voisey caught Singer out of position and proceeded to curl the ball from 40 yards out. Singer helplessly tried to scramble back, but could only watch as the ball found the net, putting the Battlin' Bears up 3-0, and the game all but out of reach. Gore effectively ended Westmont's hopes in the seventy-first minute, chipping a ball from defender Evan Connoly over Singer to make the final score of the game 4-0. The crowd of 247 was left disappointed here on the first weekend after the start of classes at Westmont.
After the game, Westmont head coach Dave Wolf commented on the need the team has for increased confidence: "[Confidence] permeates to every area of the game, whether it's technical ability, or tactical awareness, or chemistry. It's all impacted by that."
The Warriors have a short turnaround, and will take Thorrington Field again on Monday at 4:00 p.m. to face CSU San Marcos. Looking ahead to that contest, Wolf said, "We just have to dig deep and see if we can summon up some pride and put a performance in on Monday."
Prior to Monday's Westmont-San Marcos game, Azusa Pacific and Rocky Mountain will match-up in a game scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.
