The California Lutheran University menโs soccer team fell to the Occidental Tigers 3-0 in a key Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup.
Cal Lutheran had lost to Occidental in the SCIAC tournament semi-finals last year, but Head Coach Miguel Ruiz said the game is not about revenge.
โNew year, new season. We got to move on. Thatโs the past and you canโt fix the past. We always talk about one game at a time,โ Ruiz said.
Ruiz shared his thoughts on his teamโs performance after the match.
โWe got to be better. If we want to make the conference we got to be better. We are just not good enough right now. As a team and as a staff we all got to be better,โ Ruiz said.
The Kingsmen gave up the first goal in the 17th minute of the game, which gave Occidental a 1-0 lead at halftime.ย
โWe were in it until they scored their goal and even when they did score their goal we were right back there getting chances that we could have put away,โ senior defender and captain Preston Fleming said.ย
Assistant Coach and Goalkeepers Coach Jamie Harris said he thinks the game could have easily gone the other way.
โI think if the ball goes in for us in that first 20 minutes while we are on top I think it could be a different game,โ Harris said.
The Tigers finished the first half with nine shots to Cal Lutheranโs three.ย
โI thought the first half we were just not ready to play. Unfortunately, it did not come out very good and gave up an early goal against a good team of that caliber. We kind of got put on our heels a little bit and it hurt us,โ Ruiz said.ย
In the second half, the Kingsmen played a lot better, Fleming said. Cal Lutheran kept the shot margin closer with five shots and held Occidental to six. The Tigers were able to seal the game with two late goals in the 82nd and 84th minutes.ย
โFirst half I donโt think we worked as hard as we could have done. In the second half we came out with much more intensity,โ Harris said.
Fleming said Cal Lutheran played harder and moved the ball better in the second half. The Kingsmen also committed 11 fouls in the second half alone. Ruiz said he liked the adjustments his team made at halftime, but he did not think the team responded well enough to Occidentalโs goals.ย
โI thought we played well until we gave up the second goal, and then it kind of went downhill from there,โ Ruiz said.ย
The following Saturday, the Kingsmen played on the road in a 2-2 tie with the California Institute of Technology. Overall, the Kingsmen are 4-5-2 and are ranked 5th in the SCIAC menโs soccer standings with a 2-2-1 conference record.
โAll in all, I think weโve been okay. We have had ups and downs. I think we are starting to find a little bit of a groove right now,โ Ruiz said.
The Kingsmen also played almost all preseason games on the road, which Ruiz said was challenging. He also said that he would like to see the team play better on the road, especially in SCIAC play. Ruiz said road wins will help the team reach its goal of making the playoffs.
โWe are aiming for playoffs and then possibly the tournament. The games coming up we feel like we can do well in and weโll keep it up and get that playoff place we are after,โ Harris said.
Even though the team has had its highs and lows, Ruiz said that the teamโs culture will serve them well moving forward.
โThe whole team has been doing well. We do not have one player. As a whole, we are doing very good. Everyone is challenging each other and I think the environment and culture is good. Itโs a team effort and we are trying to be together as a group. When we are together it is better for the outcome of the game. Everyone is doing their job to the best of their abilities,โ Ruiz said.ย
The Kingsmen will look for a win on the road against the Whittier Poets at 7 p.m. this Wednesday.
This article was edited on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 11:20 a.m. to update the Kingsmen’s overall and conference records, accounting for their most recent match at Caltech, and to separate a run-on sentence.
