By Ron Smith
September 16, 2023
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) In a year when Westmont athletic teams are renewing old rivalries with opponents in the PacWest, the men's soccer team took a moment to keep a more recent rivalry going. The Warriors welcomed the Mustangs of The Master's to Thorrington Field on Saturday for a non-conference match-up.
 
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the visitors left with a 5-2 victory.
 
"I thought that for large moments, we did great," asserted Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey. "I thought especially in the first half - after the first five minutes - that we were in control.
 
"We hadn't given up a set-piece goal this whole season and I thought those moments showed a lack of concentration and a lack of desire. We gave up four set-piece goals on the day. In my opinion, those are controllable. I don't think we have been at the level we needed to be in defending set pieces, so I think it is good for us to get exposed in the way we did today, so that we can take the lessons that we need to."
 
The Warriors' scored early, taking a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute. Leonel Olivo Ortiz served a ball into the box from the left touch line. Michael Stull got on the end of the pass and headed it into the back of the net.
 
In the 26th minute, The Master's found the equalizer. A throw-in from the left touch line resulted in the ball pinging around inside the 18-yard box. Prince Chingancheke ran on a loose ball at seven yards out and one-touched it into the goal.
 
Less than three minutes later, Master's took the lead after a flurry of shots finally ended with the ball in the goal. First, a shot by Caden Zierenberg deflected off a Westmont player. Chingancheke ran onto the rebound, but his shot from the top of the six was saved by Westmont goalkeeper Diego Garcia. The ball remained in play and after bouncing around a bit, found the feet of Tyrik Trotman who scored from 13 yards out.
 
The Master's scored again in the 66th minute after a free kick produced a loose ball in front of the net. The ball popped loose near the left post and Robert Castro tapped it in from less than a yard away.
 
In the 80th minute, The Master's struck again. The Mustangs controlled a throw-in from near the right corner and got the ball out to Matt Picht on the far side. Picht sent it back in near the top of the six-yard box and Peyton Gorans redirected it to inside the near post.
 
Less than a minute later, Westmont scored its second goal. Landon Vanderhyde sent a pass forward, leading Martin Anguiano into the box. While keeping a defender at bay, Anguiano beat the keeper to the ball and chipped it into the net from nine yards out.
 
In the 89th minute, the final goal of the game was scored off another rebound. David Cloar gathered in a free kick and took a shot from the left side that bounced off the far post and back into the field of play. Castro was there to tap the ball into an empty net.
 
"I definitely feel like today, when we were at our best, we took a step forward," said Cathey. "I thought some of the ability to play through the opponent and to expose the spaces that were there to expose, was really good. We are a team that is closer to our identity and closer to a more complete version of ourselves, even after losing the game in the fashion that we did.
 
"Set pieces are an important part of the game because a lot of goals come from them. However, I believe that they are controllable. Today, every one of those set pieces had multiple moments where we didn't make the right decision. That is something we can work on. I am positive that we can be better in those ways."
 
Eight players who have made three starts or more, sat out today's game.
 
"We had a few players that have picked up injuries and a few that had been pushing through injuries," explained Cathey. "These positions are key for us, so we needed to give them an opportunity to recover fully before this week. It isn't a conference game this Saturday, but it is against a conference opponent, and we want to be at our best in that game. 'At our best' means everybody healthy and everybody fresh.
 
"It was also important, today, to give guys opportunities that have earned them by working hard on the practice field," noted Cathey. "It was not as much about giving guys rest as it was about giving guys opportunities."
 
The Warriors will play again next Saturday when they travel to Azusa Pacific in the final game before the start of PacWest play. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.