By Jordan Wyatt October 8, 2013
 

(Fullerton, Calif.) Freshman midfielder Matthew Lariviere acquired the first goal of his Warrior career on Tuesday afternoon as Westmont (6-3, 2-1 GSAC) slipped past the Royals of Hope International (2-8-1, 0-2-1) by a score of 1-0.

Energized and ready to bounce back from their conference loss on Saturday, the Warriors began the game on an offensive stampede. During the first nine minutes of play, the men in maroon recorded three shots (two on goal) and three corner kicks before the Royals even registered an offensive statistic.

The tables then turned in the 18^th minute as HIU rattled off three unanswered shots over the next five minutes of action. However, at the conclusion of both teams' offensive assaults, neither had scored.

Although Westmont finished the initial period with six shots (three on goal) and five corners taken, the match featured a scoreless draw at the half.

In the second half, the Warriors continued to pound the Royal defense with aggressive play. After five more shots and two more corners, the Warriors finally broke the tie.

Warrior head coach Dave Wolf described the goal in stating, "Matty came on, beat a guy on the edge of the box, and basically let a spontaneous ball fly on an absolute rip of a shot." Wolf added that Lariviere's unpredictable nature was "certainly what we needed today."

Through nine games this season, the Warriors are essentially capricious in terms of who's going to score. Lariviere's goal in the 72^nd minute of match made him the ninth squad member to score during this year's campaign.

When asked to comment on his team's offensive girth and identity as a whole, Wolf answered, "There really isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to it, and we really don't need to explain it – we just to need to show it. So far, that's exactly what we've done."

Westmont held HIU to just four shots in each period, while calling on goalkeeper Josh Glover just once over the entire match for a save, a feat that Wolf directed much credit for towards senior reserve defender Cody Cohen.

"Cody came in towards the end the first half to play right back for Brandon Talsma who wasn't feeling well. He played the remainder of the first and all of the second, against a pretty tough customer. Today, Cody got his chance, and he definitely did a great job."

The Warriors will look to continue their team-wide success against conference rival Biola in La Mirada on Saturday, October 12. That match will begin at 4:30 p.m.