California Lutheran University Kingsmen soccer (6-9-5) had its 2024 season come to an end in a 2-1 loss to the Chapman University Panthers (6-8-5) in the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at William Rolland Stadium Tuesday night. 

Cal Lutheran went into halftime with a 1-0 lead after junior defender Jack Gominiak hammered in the Kingsmen’s first and only goal of the night.

Head Coach Miguel Ruiz, in his seventh season at the helm, said that he thought the team did great in the first half of the game. 

“I thought we had a fantastic first half, unfortunately we came out the second half and gave up two early goals and just really put us under a lot of pressure and we couldn’t bounce back from those two goals,” Ruiz said. 

Junior midfielder Danny Rodriguez said despite how the season ended, with constant ups and downs, there are still plenty of things to build on and learn from moving forward.

“A lot of ups and downs but we took a lesson from it. There’s some stuff we could have done better, but, you know, lessons learned, and hopefully we come back in the spring strong and come back out in the fall 2025,” Rodriguez said. 

To start off the second half, Chapman quickly scored within 30 seconds bringing the score to an even 1-1. Following the quick strike, the team scored another goal 10 minutes later in the 55th minute. This quick succession of goals allowed Chapman to take a 2-1 lead over the Kingsmen. 

Senior goalkeeper Gen Katashiba said that once again, the team’s success is determined by the ability of the Kingsmen to stay consistent throughout the course of a matchup. 

“I think we had a great first half, and then second half, I think we weren’t able to replicate the performance in the first half and yeah, again, comes back to consistency,” Katashiba said.

Ruiz said he gives credit to Chapman for the quick adjustments that were made leading to some quick goals.

“Been a long season, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of inconsistencies, I think it plays out to their end today. I don’t know, we could never find a rhythm this year, and I think that just definitely costs us not to be able to find a rhythm and injuries and little things that, you know, we just couldn’t overcome,” Ruiz said. 

Rodriguez said his heart still goes out to the seniors who just finished their final collegiate game as Kingsmen. 

“I’m a junior, so I’m not feeling nothing compared to what the seniors are feeling, but I have a lot of friends that are seniors so my heart goes out to them, but yeah, just again, lesson learned and, yeah, we’ll come back stronger next year,” Rodriguez said.

Katashiba said that he will need to let things take effect and give himself time to properly reflect on the game that has meant so much to him over the course of his athletic career. 

“It’s honestly taking a minute for it to all sink in, just thinking that might be the last time I competitively play, but honestly, a lot of appreciation for being able to play here for the past four years,” Katashiba said.

Ruiz said the past four years have been very special and he is very thankful for what the seniors brought to the program. 

“You know, it was a great four years.Thought those guys did something for the team so, you know, it’s a hard way to go out,” Ruiz said. “But you know, we got to be very thankful for what they did into the program the last four years. Hopefully, we learn from all this and then we’ll be ready to go next year,” Ruiz said.