The University of Redlands men's soccer team continued Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday night, taking on the Whittier College Poets under the lights at Farquhar Field. The Bulldogs snagged a 2-1 victory, aided by a pair of first-half goals during a night that honored the Bulldog seniors.
Prior to the Bulldogs' battle against the Poets, Redlands recognized seniors Kyle Savette (Bellevue, WA), Grahame Fitz (Palo Alto, CA), Nico Johnson (Las Vegas, NV), Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV), and Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) as they played on Farquhar Field for the final time during the regular season.
The Maroon and Gray wasted no time jumping on the board, as Kustura located the back of the net in the fourth minute of play by gathering a loose ball and finishing low post.
Just a minute later, Izydorek matched his fellow senior's goal with a little bit of swagger. Izydorek met a pin-point pass from freshman forward Chase Boone (Beaverton, OR) with a sliding effort to tap the ball past the Poet goalkeeper, expanding the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0.
The defensive unit of sophomore Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA), freshman Ben Thompson, and Johnson worked relentlessly to hold the Whittier offense to a mere four shots in the first half.
The second stanza saw a hard-fought battle that resulted in four yellow cards and 19 fouls. Despite the physical nature of play, the Bulldogs cranked off 11 shots in an attempt to expand their lead.
However, the Poets knocked a header to the back of the net in the 68th minute, reducing the Bulldogs' lead to only one goal.
The senior tandem of Izydorek and Kustura continued to cart a heavy foot, as the duo combined for seven second-half shots.
Freshman midfielder Sergio Valencia (San Jose, CA), junior midfielder Peter Marsden (Woodside, CA), and Thompson all attempted a shot in the second half as well.
Despite not converting a score in the final 45 minutes, the Bulldogs held off the Poets for the win in the final home game of the regular season.
Freshman goalkeeper Josh Haskill (Lakewood, CA) notched three saves in a full-game performance that resulted in his seventh win of the season.
Redlands (10-8-0, 9-5-0 SCIAC) begins its final week of SCAIC competition by traveling to Thousand Oaks on Monday to face off against the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen at 7 p.m. Currently, the Bulldogs sit in third place in the standings but trail the leaders by only two points.
