California Lutheran University’s Kingsmen soccer team conquered the Whittier Poets 2-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 21 for their second conference game win in a row. The first goal was scored by senior midfielder Cesar Sagastume, which was his first goal of the season. 

“I was really excited, kind of surprised, I mean, I don’t get forward enough so that’s something I’ve been working on and I was just excited to get a goal in,” Sagastume said.

The goalie made three saves and the Kingsmen held a strong defensive line. This resulted in their second shutout of the season and brought the Kingsmen’s overall record to 3-1-2. Sophomore midfielder JP Melgoza assisted the second goal, which was scored by another senior midfielder, Chris Pelaez. 

“We’ve been working very hard during training to get this, to defend our home field, so it feels good,” Pelaez said.

Although the Kingsmen fired a total of 18 shots following their opening two goals, their senior midfielders’ goals remained the only ones scored. It was an aggressive game as there were a total of 30 fouls called by the referees, which were split evenly by Cal Lutheran and Whittier. However, the Kingsmen remained unfazed and kept their momentum going, determined to defend their lead. 

“I think it’s something that we deserved, we played much better. We dropped off a little bit, but that’s to be expected. But I think that everyone coming off the bench gave great energy, so it helped us win and I’m really proud of the team,” Sagastume said.

Up until this game, the Kingsman had been playing on the road, bringing home two ties, two wins and a loss. This journey made the win at home that much sweeter for the team.

“Today was a very good game, with all the fans out here supporting us, it was just great to get a win at home,” Pelaez said.

This sentiment was echoed by Head Coach Miguel Ruiz. 

“It’s definitely good to be back home and play here, we’ve been on the road for the last three weeks, so it’s definitely fun to be back at home in front of our fans and not traveling in a bus or being in a hotel, so I think more than the win, we are just happy to be home,” Ruiz said. 

The Kingsmen will look to build on this win as conference games have more weight in their record and determine their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standing.

“When you’re in conference, every game counts and there’s no do-overs or anything, so every point that we can get out of these games is important for us. We try to take it one game at a time and keep taking it one step at a time, and hopefully at the end we have done the right things,” Ruiz said. 

The victory appeared to charge the Kingsmen’s determination even further, as they look to bring even more wins and the championship title.

“It’s not over, we have to keep fighting, and I’m excited for this season,” Sagastume said.

The next home conference game is against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on Saturday, Oct. 1.