LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen took down the Occidental Tigers on the road Wednesday afternoon, taking home their second Southern California Intercollegiate Conference win of the season.
Four Kingsmen combined to put up 12 goals against the Tigers eight. George Lundgren led the group with five goals, Wyatt Lowe tallied four of his own, Ben Brown added an additional two points and Dillon Goldsmith rounded out the group with a point of his own.
Defensively, the Kingsmen shined with goalkeeper Andre Rivas who recorded 11 saves, three steals, and an assist on the afternoon. Brown also recorded three steals of his own, along with Matt Fong and Stephen Blaauw who each added two.
Starting off dominant, the Kingsmen offense scored four goals with a quick pass game that stifled the Tiger's defense, leaving Occidental scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
Occidental tried to gain some leverage against the Kingsmen in the second period, but were quickly unsuccessful as Cal Lutheran found the back of the net yet again with a fifth goal. With 5:20 remaining in the half Occidental finally snuck their first ball past Rivas.
Immediately, the Kingsmen came back with a quick transition to the other side of the pool, with Brown passing to the right and dumping the ball into the center to Lowe who drained the ball past the Tiger's keeper, putting the score at 6-1.
Continuing to apply pressure, Cal Lutheran's defense remained in control over the Tigers, causing five field blocks and eight drawn ejections on the afternoon.
Occidental's offense found a way to capitalize on Cal Lutheran's errors, finding quick transitions and sending the ball past Rivas twice to score another two goals before the end of the first half. The Tigers continued to put up points against the Kingsmen entering the next period, quickly finding the back of the net around a minute into the second half, putting the score at 7 to 4.
Swift transitions and passes propelled the Kingsmen around Occidental's goalkeeper, however, allowing for another Cal Lutheran goal from Lundgren from the outside. Occidental continued to fight back against the Cal Lutheran defense, taking advantage of two turnovers that led to another two goals on Rivas in the third.
The Kingsmen answered back in the fourth period with three goals of their own unanswered in less than two minutes of play, taking the score to 11- 6 over the Tigers.
With only 4:43 left on the clock, the Tigers came off a quick transition from defense, making their way up the pool to only send a shot on goal straight into the arms of Rivas. Taking advantage of the Tiger's struggles, Brown monopolized off the Kingsmen's pass game, taking a shot from the outside left to score the twelfth goal for Cal Lutheran.
The Tigers attempted to claw their way back, scoring another two goals in the last minute of the game, but were overcome by the Kingsmen who took home the win 12-8 as the clock ran out.
The Kingsmen travel to Claremont, Calif. this Friday, October 5, for the Gary Troyer Tournament. Their first contest is set against the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds at 12:20 p.m PST.
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Release by Alexa Barnes, Sports Information Student Assistant