THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran University men's soccer team celebrated senior night Wednesday evening with a 2-1 win against Chapman University inside William Rolland Stadium. The Kingsmen honored 16 seniors, and Head Coach Dan Kuntz in his final regular season game inside William Rolland Stadium.
With the win, the Kingsmen took over the No. 2 spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings with one game remaining. They improved to 9-2-2 in the SCIAC and 11-3-2 overall. The Kingsmen finished the regular season with no losses at home and a record of 7-0-1.
Diego Ortega broke the silence with the first shot on goal, and then followed up with a wide shot a few minutes later. The Kingsmen had a good opportunity a little bit later, but the Chapman goalie came out to challenge Brandon Kearney and won.
After a Chapman foul, Ortega took the free kick and placed the ball into the top right corner of the net for the first goal of the night.
The Violet and Gold nearly scored another goal off of a cross from Christian Guzman, but Ortega's header missed over the crossbar. Despite constant pressure for the Kingsmen, Chapman got a late shot on goal, but Eduardo Garcia was there for the save.
In the second half, Chapman fired two shots toward the net, but Garcia was there for the blocks. CLU continued to press forward, but they could not find the back of the net. Danny Pacheco sent a beautiful free kick into the box, but the Kingsmen could not connect.
Chapman's Zev Gollis eventually tied up the game off of a rebound from Garcia in the 67th minute.
In the 76th minute, Joey Arnold put the Kingsmen back on top, with the assist from Pacheco, as he fired a shot into the goal for a 2-1 lead.
Both teams pushed for a goal as the clock ran down, but both goalies were locked into focus. The Panthers had their chances including a shot off the right post. In the end, CLU managed to hold them off for the win.
The Kingsmen had 15 shots. Ortega and Arnold scored a goal apiece, while Pacheco added an assist. Garcia had three saves on the night to pick up the win as he improved to 10-3-2.
The Kingsmen finish the regular season Saturday as they travel to Whittier for a match with the Poets at 5 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 2, CU 1
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director / Makenna Pellerin (Sports Information Intern)
