By Ron Smith
December 1, 2023
 
(KISSIMMEE, Fla.) Cash Anderholt scored twice to help Westmont Men's Soccer (11-7-3) record a 3-2 win over Central Christian of Kansas (12-5-5) in Friday's semifinal game at the National Christian College Men's Soccer Championships. It was the defensive back's third and fourth goals of the season, three of which have come during postseason play.
 
"I think (the win) was expected," said Anderholt, "but you have to work every game and that is what we did. We prepared for all of these games just like we did in season. I think we did a good job and every moment was 100% effort."
 
Anderholt gave Westmont a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. The Warriors, building out of the back, got the ball to Guerrero in the defensive half. Guerrero dribbled through the midfield, then passed the ball ahead and to his right, leading Anderholt who was dashing down the field. Anderholt's defender attempted a slide to intercept the ball, but when he did not succeed, the freshman was one-on-one with Central's goalkeeper, TJ Foster.
 
"The first half, they were letting me take the line, so I took my space," described Anderholt. "Eric slipped a ball in and I took a big touch. I thought that the goalie was going to get to it, but I just got a poke right by him."
 
From the corner of the six-yard box, Anderholt tapped the ball into an empty net, giving Westmont the early lead. Unfortunately, Foster was injured on the play and was unable to continue.
 
"I honestly think more than the goals he scored, Cash was exceptional defensively," said Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey. "I think he had only one mistake defensively the entire game and he had to do it isolated for 70 minutes.
 
"In the second half, especially, Central had just one chance. When you have guys that are that competitive and that strong in their motivation to keep going and to fight for the team, it is such a joy to coach those kinds of players. Cash is such an example of that. He did fantastic."
 
Twenty minutes later, the Tigers responded with a goal of their own to tie the game at a goal apiece when Logan Singh took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box on the right side. Singh's shot found the far corner to become the first of two equalizers.
 
With less than two minutes to play before the intermission, Aldo Becerril sent a ball to John Ruetschle in the center of the field. Ruetschle popped the ball in the air and Michael Stull headed the ball inside the 18-yard box as Becerril dashed past the last defender.
 
Becerril attempted to head the ball into the goal as Rodolfo Ramirez, who had taken over for Foster as the Tiger's goalkeeper, attempted to punch the ball away. Instead, Ramirez punched Becerril in the head and a yellow card was issued to the replacement keeper.
 
Miguel Alvarado, took the resulting penalty kick and deposited it in the upper left corner as Ramirez dove the opposite direction. As a result, Westmont claimed a 2-1 lead at halftime.
 
Central refused to go away, however, and tied the game at two in the 60th minute. Camilo Penafiel took a touch on a ball outside the 18-yard box and got a clear shot from 16-yards out. The ball went just inside the near post for the goal.
 
Six minutes later, Westmont scored the game winner off a set piece. Cole Lomeli took a corner kick from the left side sending a short pass to Leonel Olivo Ortiz along the touchline. Lomeli crossed behind Olivo Ortiz, who then passed it back to Lomeli. Lomeli then crossed the ball into the box where it found the head of Anderholt, who was a couple of yards off the left-hand corner of the six-yard box.
 
"It was a flick off the head and it was right in the back of the net," described Anderholt. "Cole crossed it into me. He dimed my head and I flicked it on."
 
From that point on, Westmont's defense prevented any more damage from being done, ensuring the win.
 
"To win games when you are in control for the majority of the game and are creating the better chances, then to find yourself in a 2-2 situation late in the game, is where character has to come out," expressed Cathey. "It is very hard to come back from those moments and be very positive about the outcome. So, to see our guys fight all the way to the end and score the way they did and hold on the way they did was incredible.
 
"We had to adjust to Central Christian in the first half. I thought our adjustment helped us be more successful in a lot of the moments. I think today was our worst day in our ability to be clinical in the attacking third. We had so many moments to punish them in one-on-one situations."
 
Among the challenges Westmont faced today was playing without All-PacWest center back Landon Amaral who was serving a one-game suspension after acquiring a red card in Wednesday's game. The Warriors called on senior midfielder Donovan Howat to replace Amaral while making some changes to their formation. Donovan, who is recovering from an injury, had not played in nearly three weeks.
 
"For Donnie to play 90 minutes with an injury, at a position that he has played maybe twice in his life, and to step in the way he did, I cannot tell you how much that shows about this team and about this program," said an emotional Cathey. "It is an incredible display of courage and strength that I don't know that I have ever seen as a coach."
 
The Warriors advance to the championship game tomorrow against another streak of Tigers, this time of the Campbellsville (Ky.) variety. The Tigers (15-5-3) advanced to the championship game with a 5-1 victory over Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) in the second semifinal game.
 
The championship game is scheduled for a six o'clock kick-off local time (3:00 p.m. PST). Fans can obtain the link to watch the pay-per-view broadcast of the game from the Westmont Athletics website.