By Ron Smith
October 3, 2019
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) A goal by senior central defender Tim Heiduk in the 36th minute is all #4 Westmont Men's Soccer (7-1, 1-0 GSAC) needed to claim victory over William Jessup (2-7-1, 0-1) in the first Golden State Athletic Conference game of the year.
 
"We found a way to get a win, which was good on the day," said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. "Some things will need to sharpen up moving forward, but it was a win. We got a goal from a central defender, which probably tells as much of the story as anything."
 
The goal was the second of the year for Heiduk, both of which have been game winners.
 
"It was a corner kick that Pancho (Francisco "Panchito" Castro) served in," said Wolf describing the goal. "Zach Godeck was in the neighborhood of the initial service, but the ball ricocheted to Timmy. It changed course a little bit and he actually handled it great.
 
"His ability to take the ball out of the air, first time, with the left foot produced a very high level finish. In a game where, overall, we weren't very sharp in the final third of the field, that was about as sharp as you can be. It was one moment of exquisite sharpness that ended up being the difference.
 
"We had a long layoff and this was a tricky game to come back into from the perspective that it is a long road trip and a tricky field to play on, even if you are sharp. I think that the combination of the layoff, a little bit of rust and the environment made for some challenging terrain."
 
In eight games this season, Westmont goalkeeper Edward "Lalo" Delgado has been credited with five shutouts. This time, however, Delgado was awarded the shutout without having to face a shot on goal. That was due in large part to the play of the center backs – Heiduk and Godeck.
 
"Our central defensive pairing is really maturing," said Wolf. "I have been so impressed with Zach's professionalism and attention to detail. Every time I see him, on or off the field, he is doing something to take care of his body, to look after himself, to be prepared well. I think it is showing on the field. Timmy and Zach look very comfortable together and individually are playing very well."
 
Offensively, Wolf was pleased with the play of one of the reserves who came off the bench.
 
"Jona Romero came on and did a nice job for us," said the veteran coach. "He came into that number 10 role, did some nice things on the ball, helped us get forward and created a little bit."
 
Westmont tallied 14 shots, put placed just three of them on target. In addition to Heiduk's score, Christian Webb recorded the other two shots on goal.
 
The Warriors will continue their road trip by heading west tomorrow in anticipation of Saturday's game with Menlo on its turf field.
 
"We are going to have to be better on Saturday," acknowledged Wolf. "We will get a training opportunity tomorrow. That will be important to get adjusted and acclimated to a very different environment."
 
In addition, the Warriors are hoping to benefit from the addition of personnel.
 
"Our plan is to travel Justin Nakaoka and Lucky Puengrod to Atherton tomorrow," revealed Wolf. "We left them behind for some additional training. We haven't heard how they survived that. We are hoping that they will both be available on Saturday."