By
Ron Smith
October 23, 2026
(LA MIRADA, Calif.) Westmont Men's Soccer (6-6-5, 4-1-2 PacWest) took an important step forward in its quest for a spot in next month's PacWest Tournament. Despite a 50-minute delay due to lightning, the Warriors defeated the host Eagles of Biola (4-8-3, 3-3-1) by a score of 2-0 to move into third place in the PacWest Standings.
"I thought everyone who played tonight was outstanding
," reported Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey. "There really wasn't a star player for us today. Everyone was so, so good. I'm really proud of our team.
"Our guys were tireless in their pursuit of the ball
," replied Westmont's head coach Morgan Cathey when asked about his impressions of the game. "I thought we thoroughly deserved to win the game. Biola is a team that can pin you back well and can keep the ball well. Throughout the game, we neutralized their opportunities to progress the ball.
"It wasn't just the effort on the defensive side. I think we were very brave in possession, we found really good spaces and it was awesome to watch
. Honestly, our guys played really well."
The first tally came in the 24th minute off the head of senior forward
Leonel Olivo Ortiz who recorded his fourth goal of the season and the 18th of his career.
Westmont earned a corner kick after a ball thrown in from the right touch line by Cash Anderholdt was headed past the goal line by a Biola defender. As Thiago Aranibar headed to take the corner,
Cole Lomeli dashed over to the Warrior bench.
"Cole came over to get some instruction, and the opponent switched off
," described Cathey. "Then Cole ran to receive the ball from Thiago. Nobody was aware of him because he had been over talking to me. Then, they all rushed out and Cole played an unbelievable pass in to Leo, who didn't even have to move. It just hits his head and goes in. He doesn't have to jump, it just goes through. So that was an awesome, really well-worked corner."
Both Aranibar and Lomeli were awarded an assist.
Westmont's second goal came in the 57th minute with freshman forward
Julius Oehmichen recording his second goal as a Warrior.
Aranibar sent a ball forward from the Warriors' half along the left touchline. Olivo Ortiz kept the ball in play, heading it to
Luis Cortes, who chested the ball down, then forwarded it to Oehmichen who was breaking for the goal.
"
Luis Cortes played a really good pass through to Julius who was one-on-one with the goalkeeper," said Cathey, picking up the description of the goal. "He was very composed to open his hips and send the goalkeeper one way and then just pass it in
to the goal."
With two games remaining in PacWest play, the Warriors are now in third place with 14 points in the conference standings. When the season ends on Saturday, October 31, the top four teams in the conference ladder will earn berths in the PacWest Tournament.
Just ahead of Westmont is Point Loma who has a conference mark of 5-2 and 15 points. Vanguard sits atop the conference with 16 points and a record of 5-2-1. However, Vanguard has just one game remaining in which to earn points.
Dominican and Hawai'i Pacific are now tied for fourth place with 13 points after the Sharks beat the Penguins 6-1 in Honolulu tonight. Both teams have a conference mark of 4-2-1. Biola is in sixth place with 10 points, one ahead of Concordia (3-3) and Hawai'i Hilo who are tied for seventh with nine points. Hilo, however, has been eliminated from postseason play because it has only one conference game remaining. Concordia still has three games to play and is, therefore, still in contention for a tournament berth.
Westmont's final two games are against Concordia on Wednesday, October 28 and Point Loma on Saturday, October 31. If the Warriors win both, they will not only secure a tournament bid, but they will be the PacWest Regular Season Champions.
