THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On a colorful night at William Rolland Stadium, the outcome between the Cal Lutheran and La Verne men's soccer teams was second to the spirit and enthusiasm that came with a Childhood Cancer Awareness Night co-sponsored by CLU and Cancer Fit, Inc. The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown between the Kingsmen and Leopards went to the visiting squad by a 2-0 margin.
In support of childhood cancer, the Kingsmen wore gold socks while the visiting Leopards also joined in the event with pink socks to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.
The doubleheader with the CLU women's team started with MVP draftee Sal Bellomo joining the Kingsmen captains as an honorary captain himself. The six-year-old cancer survivor was announced with the starting lineups and ran out to midfield with a beaming smile and personalized Cal Lutheran jersey. At halftime he was presented a golden soccer ball that was signed not only by the CLU team, but also by Brad Friedel the longtime US National Team goalkeeper.
Once the whistle was blown, the Kingsmen and Leopards combined for 10 shots in the opening half with five apiece before La Verne fired off 11 in the second half to six for CLU. The game was scoreless through the first 26 minutes until Nathan Gonzalez scored on an open net after Zach Torres earned a defensive block in front of the Kingsmen goal. The single score would hold until the final 15 seconds when a yellow card inside the box led to a penalty kick allowing Gonzalez an opportunity for a second score.
The Violet and Gold earned seven more corner kicks than La Verne with 10. In his season debut, Logan Cone fired off a pair of shots to share the team-lead with Bryan Hulse, Elmer Molina and Pedro Zaccarelli.
Earlier this season LV earned a 2-1 win and earned a season sweep with the win tonight.
Cal Lutheran (2-11-2, 2-9-1) travels to Whittier on Monday, Oct. 19 for a 7:00 p.m. tilt with the Poets.
Box Score: LV 2, CLU 0
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