THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – In Dan Kuntz's final season at the helm of Kingsmen soccer, him and his staff were named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Coaching Staff of the Year. Cal Lutheran won the SCIAC Postseason Tournament and the team advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"The privilege of working with this team can't be overstated," said Kuntz. "These players believed they could do something special by working hard and setting high goals, expecting excellence from one another and the results showed."
The Violet and Gold were well represented on conference and region teams as five student-athletes garnered recognition. Daniel Aguilar, Brandon Kearney and Cristian Yepez were named Third Team All-West Region. For the all-conference teams, the trio was joined by Diego Ortega on the All-SCIAC First Team and Charlie Villa-Lovos was named to the All-SCIAC Second Team.
"Our seniors were especially key to the team's success," said Kuntz. "Whenever the team needed to get focused the seniors would take the game to another level. They would speak to the team and get them re-set on their goals and go to another gear on the field to set the example"
The team put up a 13-5-2 overall record and a 9-3-2 record in SCIAC play. The Kinsgmen were the No. 2 seed in the SCIAC Tournament and defeated Chapman to advance to the Tournament Championship. Cal Lutheran took on the No. 1 seed and the No. 13 team in the nation, Redlands. Yepez scored a goal during regulation and the teams went to overtime tied at 1-1. In the second overtime period, Kearney received a pass from Cody Collins and scored the game-winning goal in the 105th minute to win the SCIAC Tournament. The team's season came to an end in the NCAA Tournament against the Loras Duhawks by a score of 4-2.
Statistically, Joey Arnold scored a team-high 10 goals. He added three assists for a total of 23 points. Ortega was second on the team with nine and goals, Kearney scored eight and Aguilar added three more. Eight more players scored one goal. Six of Kearney's goals were game-winners and he finished the season ranked 14th in the nation for that category.
Kearney led the team with five assists. The Kingsmen were very good at spreading the ball around as Danny Pacheco added four assists, Aguilar and Ortega had three, and Jaime Alvarado added two more.
Eduardo Garcia started 19 of the 20 games in goal for CLU. He had a record of 12-5-2 and totaled 1,796 minutes between the posts. He helped the team secure seven shutouts. He tallied 84 saves against only 20 goals. He was named the MVP of the SCIAC Tournament.
The team celebrated on Senior Day with 16 student-athletes. All three phases from the offense, to midfield, to the defense, had seniors that helped contribute to the success of the team this year. The Kingsmen's mentality and family bond helped them have one of the most successful seasons for men's soccer.
"Whenever a person, in this case myself, gets the opportunity to be a part of an incredibly talented committed group of people, it is a memory that is never forgotten," said Kuntz. "This was one of those times and teams for me as a coach."
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director