THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Six seniors from Cal Lutheran were honored prior to kickoff of Saturday night's match against Whittier at William Rolland Stadium, and the exciting contest would eventually result in a scoreless draw.
Aaron Winsick, Daniel Pacheco, Joey Arnold, Joshua Drapkin,Luis Perezand Lucca Rodriguesplayed their final match on their home ground and were honored in the form of a ceremony for their hard work and dedication to the men's soccer program.
The talented Whittier side outshot the Kingsmen 13-4 on the night, but could not manage a clear-cut chance as the CLU defense held strong. The defensive backline of Ryan Fraye, Tyler Sherard, Erik Mejia and Nick Bryant were calm for the entirety of the match, stifling attacks with ease.
Owen Ebner was fantastic between the posts, entering the game in the second half and totaling seven saves in his 65 minutes of play.
Cal Lutheran had the first scoring opportunity in the 24th minute when a shot from well outside the penalty area was flicked towards goal by Winsick, but the Whittier goalkeeper made an impressive reaction save to deny the forward of his fourth goal of the season.
Shortly after halftime, Adrian Graciano tried his luck with a shot from 25 yards out, but was unlucky as his long-range attempt struck the crossbar and rebounded back into play.
Whittier had a great chance to open the scoring in the 59th minute when their striker was through on goal, but Ebner came out on top in the one-on-on opportunity.
In the final 10 minutes of play, the Poets pressed high up the pitch in the attempt to find a winning goal. Ebner was up to the task, however, making an incredible triple save in the 80th minute to keep his team on level terms.
With less than a minute to play, Ebner made yet another game-saving block with a reaction save to send the game to overtime.
Neither team could create enough chances to score in the overtime periods and the match would end scoreless with both teams walking away with a point.
Tallying shots for Cal Lutheran were Winsick (2), Graciano and Rodrigues.
Cal Lutheran will play the final match of their season Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. when they travel to take on Pomona-Pitzer.
Box Score: CLU 0, WC 0
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director
