By Jacob Norling
February 25, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) On Thursday afternoon Westmont Men's soccer (1-1, 1-0) defeated the Vanguard Lions (2-1, 0-1) 1-0 on an 89th minute goal, to kick off Golden State Athletic Conference play for both sides.
 
Westmont head coach Dave Wolf said, "Westmont-Vanguard games are always closely contested, so it was certainly not a surprise that things were so tight."
 
Sam Tuscano's goal in the penultimate minute of the match was the defining moment of a day otherwise highlighted by two great defenses.

For the first fifteen minutes of the match neither side gained much traction, with no shots on goal by either team. 

In the 26th minute Westmont keeper Måns Ingvarson was faced with his first legitimate threat of the day, when disaster almost struck in the Warrior backfield.

With little pressure coming from the opposition, centerback Nick Ruiz attempted a routine crossing pass to fellow centerback Zach Godeck. While shuffling his feet, Godeck got his feet caught in the turf and fell to the ground for a brief moment. Godeck's tumble allowed the ball to roll directly to Vanguard's Stuart Alvayero.

With no defenders in his way, Alvayero had a free go at Ingvarson as the keeper came off his line to meet the Lions striker. Fortunately for Godeck and the Warriors however, Alvayero shot the ball right into the hands of Ingvarson, who collected three saves.
 
Coach Wolf was pleased with his keeper's shutout, stating, "Today was the first day that he just seemed really settled. It's not been an easy transition for Mans, but today he looked confident, relaxed, and in control. He was outstanding for us."
 
Once more in the first half, Vanguard found Alvayero open, as again in the 29th minute a through ball gave him another shot at Ingvarson. Failing to capitalize again, Alvayero rolled over his shot and the ball trickled harmlessly to the Westmont keeper.
 
In the 31st minute Westmont had their first threatening sequence of the match. Jona Romero aired a pass more than forty yards down the field, landing it right at the feet of striker Tyler Young just as Young found his way into the 18-yard box. 

Young took a stride with the ball at his feet, and right as he geared to take a shot, Young got tangled up with a Vanguard defender and fell to the ground. Young and the Warriors lobbied for a penalty kick, but the whistle never came, and the club failed to put together another legitimate scoring threat until the final ten minutes of the half.

In the 38th minute, Jona Romero intercepted a pass at a midfield, and quickly countered to feed Owen Bates on a run, finding him just outside the 18-yard box on the near side of the field.

Bates, who appeared to have an open path to the goal, was taken out on a dangerous slide by Vanguard defender Kobe Franks, who received a yellow card for the action.
 
On the ensuing set piece, Romero just missed putting the Warriors on the bored, striking the crossbar. The ball ricocheted back into play and found its way to Westmont freshman Braeden Pryor, who used his head to redirect the ball will force, but right into the keeper's hands. 
 
Prior's shot was the first of only two shots on goal for Westmont in the first half. The second was in the final minute of action, when Tuscano heaved a desperation shot from thirty yards out that slowly rolled into the hands of Vanguard keeper, Alex Penazola.

Westmont's first scoring opportunity in the second half came in the 56th minute, when off of an Owen Bates cross, Tuscano again had an opportunity. This time Tuscano laced a ball with his left foot, but again directly at Penazola.

Neither side provided much of a threat until the 68th minute, when off of a set piece Vanguard drilled another shot on goal, but similar with much of the day's theme, it went directly to Ingvarson. 

Both defenses stood tall for the next several minutes, as it seemed an inevitable overtime period was approaching.

Then, in the 87th minute, Vanguard's Austin Tubbs gave the Warriors a heart attack. Tubbs crossed up a pair of defenders in the 18-yard box, and then suffered from a moment of indecisiveness. With what appeared to be a one-on-one with Ingvarson, Tubbs looked to his left for a teammate rather than shooting himself, and by the time he decided to pass to an incoming Lion, Westmont's defense had regained their footing. The Warriors thwarted the attempt, and kept the game tied at zero.

For the Lions, the missed opportunity came back to bite quickly.

On the ensuing play, the Warriors quickly moved the ball downfield and made a pass on the near side to find Tuscano just outside the 18-yard box. 

With 70 seconds left on the clock, and overtime looming, Sam Tuscano dashed inside the 18, keeping the ball close to his most dangerous weapon, his left foot. Tuscano then made a move to his left to get himself in shooting position, and drilled a ball into the net. 

Seventy seconds later, the Warriors were celebrating their first GSAC victory of the season.
 
Coach Wolf, in reaction to the game-winner, said, "Not only was it a spectacular goal, but it was a spectacular goal by a player who played all 90 minutes. To be able to do what he did in the 89th minute of a match showed not only talent, but fitness and determination. Sam has some special qualities that aren't always on display as often as we'd like them to be, but when they are he can be a match winner for us, and he showed that today."
 
Westmont returns to action next Thursday at noon, at home against Hope International. Due to local and state mandates, spectators will not be permitted to attend games in person. However, fans can watch online at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/westmont/ on the Westmont athletics website, and also on Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, and Amazon Fire TV.