The Pomona-Pitzer men’s soccer team rebounded from a loss at Whittier with a hard-fought tie against Redlands and a strong victory over Occidental. The week left the Sagehens with an overall record of 4-4-1.
“After a good result against Redlands, it was really good to get a convincing victory against Oxy,” Danny Nasry PO ‘13 said. “Getting a goal made it even sweeter.”
On Sept. 26, the Sagehens faced conference opponent Occidental in a match featuring 30 fouls and four yellow cards. The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half, as Occidental’s defense was able to hold off a persistent Sagehen attack. In the second half, Guy Thyer PO ’16 opened scoring with a well-placed, one-timed shot off a cross from Mark Raftrey PO ’15.
“Mark played me an incredible ball,” Thyer said. “I had to do it justice to get us that win.”
Nasry added a second goal by cleaning up a deflected shot from Robbie Hull PO ’15.
The defense turned in another strong performance, as goalie Nigel Brady PO ’15 only needed to make one save. Center backs Eric Munzer PZ ’13 and Geordie Marriner PO ’15 frustrated the Tigers’ attack all afternoon. The Sagehens enjoyed a 9-0 edge on corner kicks and missed a few strong opportunities to extend their lead, including a late, empty-net opportunity where Nate Shekita PO ’15 hit the post.
“It was a good team win,” Marriner said. “We did a great job of managing the game compared to past victories and it bodes well for us going forward.”
On Sept. 24, the Sagehens overcame an early deficit to tie conference power Redlands. After the Bulldogs scored on a well-placed curling shot from the edge of the box, the Sagehens picked up the attack and equalized after halftime when Nasry put a solid shot on goal and Thyer tapped in the rebound. In the first ten-minute overtime period, Redlands had four shots and three corner kicks, but the Sagehens were able to weather the storm and counter with a better second overtime period that sealed a tie.
Redlands is coming off a NCAA tournament appearance and is currently unbeaten in SCIAC, so the Sagehens’ tie was a confidence-boosting result.
The Sagehens suffered a disappointing loss to Whittier Sept. 22. The Poets scored in the first minute of play and never trailed en route to a 6-2 win. Although the Sagehens outshot Whittier 21-12, they could not get on the board until Shekita slotted home a Nasry cross to make it 3-1. Lawrence McDonald PZ ’15 added another goal in the second half, but Whittier had strong control of the game by then.
The week’s results left the Sagehens with a conference record of 3-2-1, which sounds like a launch sequence and is good for a tie with Chapman for fourth in SCIAC.
The Sagehens will be back in action Saturday when they host Caltech at 11 a.m. Last year, the Sagehens pounded the Beavers, winning their two meetings with a combined score of 12-1. Caltech has no wins thus far this year, and the Sagehens will try to keep pace in SCIAC with a win. After that, the Sagehens will travel to La Verne on Wednesday to complete the first half of their conference schedule.