By Jacob Norling
October 19, 2024
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) Westmont Men's Soccer (6-4-3, 3-3 PacWest) seemingly had no answer for the Jessup Warriors (2-6-4, 2-3-1) on Saturday, as the home team handed Westmont a 4-0 loss in Rocklin. The two sides played scoreless soccer for half an hour, but two Jessup goals in the span of three minutes late in the first half spelled doom for Westmont, who never recovered from the early deficit.
 
Making matters even worse for Westmont was the fact that the club outshot Jessup 10-1 in the first half, which included six shots on goal. Jessup, on the other hand, took three shots on frame during the first half, including in the 31st minute when the home team took the lead. Jessup's first goal came off a cross from Diego Nunez on the near sideline, who sent it in one stride after the right-footer entered the box. His pass first found the foot of teammate Isaac Morfin on the near post, who then ricocheted the ball to the back post where Eduardo Guillen was left unguarded.
 
Guillen then quickly deposited the ball inside a wide open near post, giving the home team the day's first tally. Less than four minutes later, Jessup doubled their advantage when Westmont's backline was unable to string together a few passes in their third of the field, resulting in a Jessup throw-in even with the top of the 18.
 
Two passes following the throw-in, Jessup's Jeremy Miller was 20 yards out when he let fly one of the most impressive shots you'll see during the PacWest season, sneaking in a frozen rope beyond the reach of Brady Highfill in the upper-right corner of the net.
 
Matters only grew worse for Westmont following intermission, when less-than-three minutes later, Jessup put away the match for good. This time, a Westmont defender had a pass intercepted no more than 25 yards out. From there, a frozen backline had little defense for a two-on-one that led to the ball finding a wide open Miler in the six-yard box. Miller calmly sent the ball inside the far-left post, beyond an oncoming Highfill, putting Jessup up 3-0.
 
The home team pulled no punches on Saturday, finding another goal in the 81st minute. This time, Nunez drove into the box with his left foot, and had an open look at Highfill who was closely guarding his near post. Still, Nunez fired and was able to sneak it through for Jessup's fourth goal. Ten minutes later, the final buzzer rang in a match that Westmont fans will seek to soon forget.
 
Westmont's men have one more match on the road next Thursday against Concordia, before the club returns home for three of their final regular season contests. Links to live coverage for Thursday's road game will be available on the Westmont Athletics website.