By Ron Smith
November 27, 2023
 
(KISSIMMEE, Fla.) It didn't take long for Westmont Men's Soccer (9-7-3) to exert control in the Warriors' first game at the National Christian College Athletic Association Men's Soccer Championship. Just 19 seconds after kick-off in the Pool B game against Asbury of Kentucky (11-4-4), Leonel Olivo Ortiz headed in a cross from Connor Lynch to give Westmont a 1-0 lead.
 
"I didn't expect us to score that quickly," expressed Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey. "It was an incredible individual effort from Connor. He put the ball in a position that is difficult to defend. Then, there was the selfless action from Leo to arrive and to dive and get his head on the ball. That is not easy. It takes a lot of bravery in that moment.
 
"That goal characterizes our team in a lot of ways – really brave, really strong, really committed, and very intentional in every moment. It is great that we believe we can score in every possession and we saw we could score in the first possession, which is awesome."
 
"Honestly, it was very unexpected. I was still settling in, fixing my jersey and my socks," said Olivo Ortiz modestly. "I saw Connor in the box, so I sprinted. When I saw Connor chip it over the defender right in front of the goal, I knew it was going to be a tap-in goal.
 
"I had to dive for it, which was kind of scary because it was near the post. We have been working on that play and we have tried it but it has never worked until now.
 
"Getting that early lead brings our confidence up. I came into this tournament hungry for goals and getting my first goal that early made me want to get more."
 
The goal was the seventh of the year of Olivo Ortiz and Lynch's fourth assist.
 
"Goals change games," remarked Cathey. "That goal changed a lot of the game. When you concede a goal that early, the opponent feels like they have to adjust to go back and score a goal. I think that helped us because then we were really in control. They were committing more numbers forward and we were better at exposing the space in behind.
 
"When you get a goal early, you are free to score a goal. You are not too nervous thinking about what might happen. That is very nice for our guys as well."
 
Seven minutes later, Westmont made it 2-0. Erik Guerrero had beat his defender and was one-on-one with the keeper inside the box.
 
"I saw a guy in the corner of my eye and took a touch as he went to the ground," reported Guerrero.
 
The result was that Guerrero was tackled to the ground, the whistle blew, a yellow card was issued and the Warriors were awarded a penalty kick. Because regular season games end in a tie after regulation, it was the first PK to be taken by the Warriors this year.
 
Guerrero took the penalty kick himself. As Asbury's goalkeeper dove one direction, Guerrero sent the ball to the opposite side of the netting,
 
"Eric and Conner had an unbelievable combination to win the penalty kick," noted Cathey. "That goal changed the game for sure and allowed us to be more confident as well."
 
"We trained for PKs during the last week of training," said Guerrero. "PKs are hard because you don't know where the keeper is going to go and you have to place it perfectly."
 
In the 61st minute, Westmont scored its third goal. Braeden Prior dribbled into the six-yard box from the left side and was tackled to the ground. Once again, the Warriors were awarded a penalty kick and, once again, Guerrero took the attempt. It was not only his second attempt of the game, but the second of his career.
 
Like the previous attempt, Guerrero put the ball where the keeper was not.
 
Asbury would get one score back in the 71st minute when Luke Thomas scored off a set piece.
 
"It was the first set-piece goal we have given up all season, except for against The Master's," pointed out Cathey. "It is an area where we take so much pride and that was really poor on the part of a lot of our team in the moment. We could have easily controlled the outcome of that moment.
 
"They had two chances in the first half and that was their only dangerous chance in the second half. We did well to minimize them. I think the score line could have been a lot more. We had more touches in the box and more opportunities to score. I believe those chances are going to come to goals (in future games)."
 
The Warriors outshot the Eagles 20-12 with Westmont holding a 10-5 advantage of shots on goal.
 
Tomorrow, the Warriors will have the day off as Asbury, the third seed in the Pool B, takes on second-seeded Wayland Baptist of Texas (8-6-3). Then on Wednesday, Westmont and Wayland Baptist will finish up Pool B play with a game that begins at 3:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. PST).
 
"We will do some regeneration tomorrow and try to apply whatever understanding we gain from scouting Wayland Baptist," said Cathey. "We feel like we can maximize the day off."
 
The winners of each of the three pools will advance to the semifinals along with the second-place team that accumulates the most points (three points for a win, one for a tie). Should two or more teams tie for the most points, a tiebreaker system has been established to see who would advance.
 
The Warriors' 3-1 win not only puts them in good position within Pool B, but also puts them in the top position in regards to tiebreaker scenarios among the six of nine teams that have already played. The same procedure will be used to reseed the teams after pool play.
 
"We had a better result than Campbellsville (a 1-0 winner over Southwestern Assemblies of God) and that gives us a great opportunity to be the top-seeded team coming out of pool play," explained Cathey. "If we go through and play the fourth seed in the semifinals, that is a lot different than playing the second or third seed. So, I am really proud of our guys for applying themselves as well as they did today – all the way to the end.
 
"Our goal is to play on December 2. You could see the collectiveness of our group. We used 21 players today, which is the most we have used all season. That is a credit to our guys. It is important that on December 2 we are fully flying. We showed the depth and quality of our group by trusting them to go out and perform. I thought that some of the guys who came in today were phenomenal."