THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Cal Lutheran men's soccer team scored two second half goals as it pulled away for a 3-0 victory over Caltech Monday night and stayed in the hunt for a berth into the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason tournament. Monday's game also marked the final home game for seniors Kyle Fleming, Jacob Gibson, Cameron Rude, Ivan Sanchez, Miguel Silva and Bryce Truver.
Cal Lutheran broke through with its first goal in the just two minutes into the game after Rude was fouled inside the penalty box. Tal Zaiet connected on the following penalty-kick for his first goal of the season and put CLU up 1-0.
The Kingsmen were close to breaking it open but were unlucky as two Matt Hubbard shots both found the post.
Caltech managed four shots to CLU's 11 in the first half as the teams headed into halftime with the Kingsmen still leading 1-0.
Cal Lutheran struggled to connect on passes and maintain possession for the majority of the second half as rain fell and the temperatures dipped into the lower 50s.
Finally in the 81st minute, Henry Breheny came on as a sub and was able to bend a ball around a CIT defender and goalkeeper off a Chris Cordova corner-kick for the second goal of the game.
Seven minutes later, Rude fed Fleming, who then spun and got just enough of the ball with his left foot to push it past the outstretched CIT keeper for his sixth goal of the season.
Cal Lutheran finished with 21 shots with nine coming on goal. Caltech improved from the first meeting earlier this season, putting up nine shots against the Kingsmen Monday.
Kingsmen goalkeeper Jack Duncan played the first 86 minutes, coming up with two saves while Silva came on and played the final four minutes.
Cal Lutheran (10-6-2, 8-5-2 SCIAC) now turns its attention to its final game of the regular season this Saturday when it takes on La Verne. With Redlands ineligible for postseason play, Cal Lutheran currently sits in fourth while La Verne is in fifth with just a game separating the two. Kickoff in San Dimas, Calif. is set for 7:00pm.
Box Score: CLU 3 CIT 0
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