California Lutheran University’s Kingsmen football fell to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in a 28-24 loss at William Rolland Stadium. This brings Cal Lutheran’s overall record to 3-5 and its conference record to 1-3. 

The homecoming football match was closely contested from the very beginning, as both teams held their defensive lines. 

“It was a tough fight. Pomona is a hell of a team, they’re senior heavy and that really showed tonight. I thought we came out and fought, we did a great job of competing. That’s something I’m just so proud of, of our team,” Head Coach Anthony Lugo said. 

Sophomore kicker Daniel Burgos scored a field goal in the first quarter, bringing the first three points to the Kingsmen. Pomona quickly retaliated in the second quarter as they scored 14 points. However, the Kingsmen did not fade as they scored 14 points in the third quarter as opposed to the Sagehen’s seven. 

Just as the Kingsmen overtook Pomona in the fourth quarter with a score of 24-21, the Sagehens managed to take the lead back with one final touchdown. 

“I thought we fought and that’s really all you can ask for, effort, in anything. The results will come, always, but I don’t feel like there is ever a point where we thought we were going to lose and didn’t keep on trying. The team showed a lot of heart and that’s something I’m very proud of, being a senior and being one of those older guys, the team showing heart and showing strides to improve for these next two games and setting the tone for next year,” defensive end senior Shaihi Baker said.

Despite the loss, the players tried to remain upbeat by not taking the defeat too hard in an effort to keep moving forward. 

“I thought it was great, I thought the team played hard, we came together and just played for each other…Sometimes in life you’re going to come up short, so you just got to keep on pushing and just finish it out. We’re going to finish out the year strong, that’s all we can really do at this point,” defensive back senior Gabriel Hernandez said. 

Despite the maturity the Kingsmen showed, Lugo was mindful about the fact that a lot of the newer players are still learning, and their best is yet to come.

“We got a lot of young guys that we’re developing right now and so this next week is going to be senior night, and we got to put it all together for those seniors can get a win here in William Rolland Stadium,” Lugo said.

The Kingsmen will continue to work hard both on and off the field as they approach their final two games of the season. 

“I think one thing we can work on, one thing we’ve been talking about in the locker room and in players’ meetings, is setting the energy. Keeping the energy up on the sidelines, not getting too down on yourselves, not to expect perfection, and just expecting hard work…” Baker said.

Cal Lutheran will keep going, not just for the players, but for the fans as well. 

“We played our hearts out tonight and that’s what we needed all year, and I thank the crowd and all the alumni for supporting us throughout the game ‘til the end. It looked a little ugly at the beginning, but I appreciated everybody staying and cheering us on because they believe in us and we want to play for the people that come back and see us play because they started that tradition here,” Hernandez said. 

The Kingsmen’s next home game is their Senior Night against La Verne on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.