California Lutheran University Kingsmen soccer fell to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in a tight 1-0 loss. 

Both defense and offense battled as the score did little to separate the teams. While no goals were scored in the first half, the Kingsmen’s defense was put to the test as the Sagehens took eight shots. On the other hand, Cal Lutheran’s offense only managed one shot in the first 45 minutes, and their slower start did not go unnoticed by their coach. 

“I thought we started off pretty slow. We didn’t have a good rhythm and we put ourselves a little bit on the back foot,” Head Coach Miguel Ruiz said. 

In the second half, the Kingsmen came back determined to score a goal. Cal Lutheran took nine more shots, three of which had been on target. All three attempts were stopped by Pomona-Pitzer’s goalie. As the game carried on, both teams were beginning to press more, committing several fouls and causing more frequent corner kicks. 

“The game was just back and forth. If we started the second half like we did the first, it would be a different story. If we started like that we would’ve had more opportunities to score, but the game went one way and we just bounce back from here,” senior center midfielder Igor Lumbrano said. 

The game saw its first goal in its final stages when the Sagehens sank the ball into the Kingsmen’s net with ten minutes remaining. Cal Lutheran looked for a late equalizer but never found the opening needed. 

“We definitely got to work on just putting balls in the net and staying focused throughout the 90 minutes of the game. We can’t have any switch-offs or let-downs which results in goals,” senior defender Tyler Sherard said. 

Despite the loss, Ruiz kept a positive, grounded attitude at the result of the game.

“I thought we played well in the second half, with the exception of the goal, I thought we turned off a little bit and soccer is a cruel game sometimes, sometimes you turn off for a little bit and teams punish you. So we got to learn, got to rebound quick,” Ruiz said. 

This was also echoed by Kingsmen players who said they are trying to keep moving forward as the season goes on.

“It’s disappointing to lose 1-0, but we’re early in the season still so we got a lot of games to bounce back, so I think we’ll be alright. We just got to keep our heads and look forward to the next game,” Sherard said. 

This defeat brings the Kingsmen’s conference record to 3-1-1 and their overall record to 4-2-3. 

“We got a good team this year, we just got to stay together, stay focused, keep grinding, and we’ll get things done this year,” Sherard said.

The Kingsmen plan to keep fighting strong with their heads held high, and brush off this loss. 

“It’s a long season, nothing’s lost. We got a long season ahead of us and we just got to get better, as the coaching staff, as players, we just have to get better … There’s no time to sit and dwell on a loss, we got to get better and that’s the bottom line,” Ruiz said. 

The next home conference game will be against Occidental on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.