THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran men's soccer team lost another close game at home after allowing an early goal from Occidental, who would hold on for the 1-0 victory, at William Rolland Stadium on Saturday night.
The Kingsmen did not seem to be in sync defensively and Occidental put the pressure on out of the gate. Just two minutes in to the contest, the Tigers had a breakaway, however goalie Jack Duncan made an excellent decision to run up on the ball and make the critical save.
Duncan made a similar play in the 15th minute as Oxy kept up their attack and had the Kingsmen on their heels.
After committing a costly foul right outside the box, the Black and Orange set up for the free kick in the 17th minute. Valdair Martins-Lopes bent the ball around the wall of CLU defenders and into the bottom right corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
Cal Lutheran picked up the intensity in the second half producing shot after shot hoping to find the equalizer. In the 62nd minute, Tyler Pascoe took the corner for CLU and his cross found Alex Wardle in the box who headed it just high over the goal.
In the 65th minute, the Violet and Gold had back-to-back opportunities with corner kicks but could not find the back of the goal. Jorge Galvan and Gabriel Fernando had shots on goal in the 70th and 72nd minute, respectively, but the Oxy goalie continued to make saves.
With the clock winding down, Zack Larson, who has scored in three straight matches, looked poised to go for his fourth straight as he turned the corner on the defender and fired a shot from twenty yards out. Unfortunately, the shot sailed high over the goal.
Cal Lutheran and Occidental were fairly even all night statistically with Oxy holding an edge in shots 16-14 and the Kingsmen ahead in corners 6-5. Both goalies recorded seven saves in the game. For CLU, 10 different players had a shot in the game led by Nick Baldi with three, including two on goal, and Wardle with two.
Cal Lutheran (3-6-2, 2-5-1 SCIAC) will look to get back in the win column when they face Pomona-Pitzer on the road next Wednesday Oct. 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Box Score: OXY 1 CLU 0
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