By Ron Smith
September 19, 2019
 
(SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.) Fifth-ranked Westmont Men's Soccer (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday evening, falling 3-0 to NCAA Division I opponent Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (3-2).
 
"Our performance wasn't very good when we were in Chicago," reflected head coach Dave Wolf after the game, "but it didn't necessarily feel that way to us because it ended up being a win and the record (for the best start in program history). I think we were appropriate relative to celebrating it that way and experiencing it that way. However, winning also tends to hide some things. Tonight, we weren't good enough in a couple of pretty significant areas that are going to be problematic when you play against a higher level of competition.
 
"The things that we weren't good at tonight, we struggled with in other games as well, but still found ways to win the game. Tonight, we were exposed and we lost. So, you get the double whammy. I think we were okay tonight, but not nearly good enough to compete with that team.
 
"We weren't able to close the spaces enough tonight," said Wolf when asked for an example of what he thought wasn't good enough. "We were a little bit too open. That is a nuanced coordination between your front row and your back row. We had come off of four shutouts in a row. The shutouts tell you that you are defending well, so maybe you aren't really paying attention to games that you are winning and getting shutouts. Tonight, there was too much space for them to play in and they were able to punish us as a result. Now we have seen it, we have experienced it and now it is associated with a loss."
 
The Mustangs controlled possession much of the first half, but the Warriors held Cal Poly scoreless during the opening frame. Though Westmont was outshot seven to three in the first 45 minutes, the only shot on goal came in the 12th minute of the foot of the Mustangs' Emmanuel Perez. The result was a save by Westmont goalkeeper Edward "Lalo" Delgado.
 
Westmont's first shot of the game came in the 14th minute. Francisco "Panchito" Castro took a free kick from 20 yards out that was blocked by a wall of Mustangs.
 
In the 38th minute, Jose Vasquez took a shot from the left side that went left. In the final minute of the first half, Samuel Tuscano missed wide right.
 
The second half was just a minute old when Cal Poly scored its first goal. Andrew Robertson served the ball in from the left flank and a header by Perez redirected it into the net.
 
Less than a minute and one-half later, Perez struck again. From five yards out, Perez booted in a pass from Diego Alonso.
 
The Mustangs scored for the final time in the 73rd minute when Andrew Forth headed in a corner kick from Alonso from the left side.
 
Westmont's first of two shots on goal didn't come until the 82nd minute on a shot from Tyler Young from inside the 18.
 
In the 83rd minute, Isaiah Bobadilla produced a beautiful save on a point-blank shot by Sebastian Herran from 12 yards out. Bobadilla had replaced Delgado in goal in the 60th minute.
 
With less than a minute to play, Tuscano recorded Westmont's second shot on goal, teeing off from 18 yards out. Like he had with Young's shot, Cal Poly goalkeeper Carlos Arce-Hurtado recorded the save to preserve his first collegiate shutout.
 
Despite the disappointment, Wolf was pleased with several performances.
 
"I was really encouraged by Isaiah Bolton," noted Wolf. "He hasn't had as many opportunities recently. I thought he did a good job.
 
"Zach Godeck continues to play well in the center of the defense. He had an unfortunate slip on the second goal, but other than that, he's had back-to-back performances that have been very good. He and Tim Heiduk were so good in Chicago that it enabled us to keep Olivet Nazarene off the board. Without them, we could have had this experience last weekend.
 
"I also thought Gabriel McEwen did a nice job for us coming in (from the bench) up front. He got some tough holds for us."
 
Westmont will take the next two weeks off from competition before heading to Northern California to kick off the Golden State Athletic Conference season. Westmont will take on William Jessup in Rocklin on Thursday, October 3 and then travel to Atherton to play the Oaks of Menlo on Saturday, October 5.
 
Asked how he would use the two weeks to prepare for the start of GSAC play, Wolf responded, "I'd like to be a little healthier than we are right now. We were down a few players tonight. We knew we could be a little more cautious with those guys and felt like the beginning of league play took priority over them playing in the game tonight.
 
"Number two, we will be doing some of that fine tuning.
 
"Finally, we are a team that has less margin for error than our record might suggest right now. So, I think there has to be some honest self-reflection right now.
 
"We will give them a few days off and get back with them next week. Hopefully, there will be a hunger and sharpness to the group."