THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's soccer broke through in a big way Saturday night, cruising past Caltech 6-2 at William Rolland Stadium to earn its first SCIAC victory of the season on Senior Night.
The six-goal performance pushed the Kingsmen (3-5-3, 1-4-1 SCIAC) past last season's win total and marked the program's largest margin of victory since September 2021.
Senior Night couldn't have started much better for the Kingsmen, who erupted for two goals in the opening 10 minutes.
Zach Mohr struck just 42 seconds into the match, finishing off an assist from
Samir Lumba to put Cal Lutheran ahead immediately. Mohr then found the back of the net again in the ninth minute, this time with
Maximo Schelotto providing the assist.
Caltech (5-4-1, 1-3-1 SCIAC) answered with two goals before halftime to pull even, but the Kingsmen wasted little time reclaiming control after the break.
Just 1:46 into the second half, Mohr completed his second hat trick of the season, heading home an assist from
Jackson Smart to give Cal Lutheran a 3-2 lead.
The Kingsmen continued to pour it on from there. Schelotto added his first goal of the night in the 51st minute, pushing the lead to 4-2 before
Noah Reese scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 65th minute off an assist from
Tika Kakimoto.
Schelotto capped the scoring in the 81st minute, finding the back of the net for the second time on an assist from Mohr to make it 6-2.
Mohr finished the night with three goals and an assist on four shots, while Schelotto added two goals and an assist on a team-high six shots. The duo accounted for five of Cal Lutheran's six goals and 12 points.
Anthony Sound made three saves in goal for the Kingsmen, while Cal Lutheran outshot the Beavers 16-8 and put 12 shots on target.
The victory provided a fitting celebration for Cal Lutheran's eight seniors:
Gavin Arce,
Dane Paulson,
Ching Leung,
David Pahud,
Silas Burnsilver,
Maximo Schelotto,
Samir Lumba, and
Jackson Smart, who were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Cal Lutheran will look to carry the momentum into its next matchup, traveling to Whittier on Wednesday, October 7. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
