Kingsmen soccer tied with the Occidental Tigers 1-1 in a hard fought battle. 

California Lutheran University took three shots in the first half as they attempted to find the net, but the Tigers’ defense held strong. The Kingsmen’s goalie, sophomore Harrison Brown, made one save. 

“It’s part of my job to help out with the team, to do my part of the team, and when I need to step in I’m trying to do the best I can every time,” Brown said.

A total of 10 fouls were called in the tense and goalless first half.

“When we play Occidental, it’s always a tough battle. We had some chances early in the game, we didn’t put away, but kids fought hard and we found a way to tie the game so we’ll take the point. At this time of the year, points matter, every game matters, so we’re excited that we were able to fight back,” Head Coach Miguel Ruiz said. 

The Kingsmen returned to the second half determined to score, but found themselves a goal down as the Tigers scored within the first nine minutes of the second half. However, the Kingsmen continued to fight hard, and their tenacity paid off as senior forward Matt Myers put away a penalty during the last five minutes of the game to even the score. 

“We fought tough. They scored on us and we wanted to come back and become stronger, fight harder and had a last minute goal right there. I helped us gain a little bit more success in the end, but overall great game. I mean, we tied the game and got some points,” Myers said. 

The Tigers tried to take their lead back, but the Kingsmen’s defense resisted in the game’s final minutes to keep the visitors out. The final whistle was blown with Cal Lutheran salvaging the game and holding onto their tie with Occidental, the No. 1 team in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

“Intense, overwhelming, crazy. Obviously, these guys are top of the table so, them coming here, we had to defend our home and prove what we can do tonight, and to fight back and at least get a point was a good result,” Brown said. 

Although the Kingsmen did not walk away with a win, they took pride in sharing the points with the No. 1 team in the conference. 

“It was a good match, it’s always a battle against Occidental, very good group, very well coached. I’m proud of my guys tonight … we haven’t had many wins this year, a lot of ties, but hopefully we’ll figure out a way to win a couple games here down the stretch, so we’re excited,” Ruiz said. 

This tie brings the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen’s overall record to 4-2-6 and their conference standing to 3-1-4. 

“I think they believe that they are together, they have a belief amongst themselves that we can do this. We’re just trying to get into the playoffs, that’s all we want, just come in tough force and hopefully have a shot at winning the conference tournament,” Ruiz said. 

As the Kingsmen enter their final stretch of games for the season, standing united is crucial to the team. 

“We’re a family out here so just keep building that bond more and more, that’s what we can do better for ourselves,” Myers said. 

This was a sentiment the coach echoed. 

“Harrison stepped into the goal [when] our keeper got a red card against LaVerne. I think that shows the culture that we’re building here. That kids can step in right when kids go down or get injured, people are stepping up right now and I’m pretty proud of them about that. Kids are stepping in without many minutes a year and they’re really doing a good job of stepping in and helping out,” Ruiz said. 

The Kingsmen’s next home game will be against UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 2 p.m.