With Head Coach Ralph Perez at the helm, the University of Redlands men's soccer team completed the 2019 season with a 10-5-3 overall record and an 8-2-2 mark in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action. The team came in second place, three points, just one win out of first. In addition, the Bulldogs advanced to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the 12th time in 13 years and produced multiple achievements along the way.
After a challenging start to the season, the Bulldogs went undefeated in 12 consecutive contests, beginning with a resounding 3-1 win at the University of La Verne on September 25. The offense clicked with three different players finding the back of the net, including junior midfielder Derrin Valeri (Atlanta, GA), first-year forward Ethan Kovach (Las Vegas, NV), and sophomore midfielder Avery Jacobson (Seattle, WA).
The momentum carried over into the next game with a 5-0 shutout against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for Perez's 200th win as the Head Coach of the Bulldogs. After taking only two previous shots, first-year forward Quinn Richards (San Clemente, CA) broke out for the first two goals of his collegiate career on his only two attempts of the game. Furthermore, junior defender Arian Mogharei (Hayward, CA) headed in his first goal as a Bulldog, while sophomore forward Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA) impressed with one goal and two assists in the milestone win.
The next week, Redlands went toe-to-toe with No. 22 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a 2-2 tie on the road. After a back-and-forth first half, Acuña rocketed a bomb of a goal from 30 yards out into the upper-left corner of the net off a short pass from sophomore midfielder Jonathan Cheung (Hong Kong, China) for the Bulldogs' 1-0 lead at the 71st minute. Ten minutes later, junior midfielder Collin ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR) hustled down the ball and scored on a rebound to make it 2-1, but the Stags answered in the 86th to escape with a draw. First-year goalkeeper Adrian Muñoz (Pasadena, CA) stepped up with five tough saves.
The Maroon and Gray jumped right back into the win column with an explosive 8-0 shutout against Caltech that sparked a 5-0 win streak. Similar to Richards' performance earlier in the season, first-year forward Jackson Fox (Kirkland, WA) took only two shots on the season before finding his rhythm with a completed hat trick in the first seven minutes of the second half. Sophomore forward Paetin Nelson (Portland, OR) not only helped limit the Beavers to just five shots for the game but provided three assists in the win.
Redlands continued its lucrative month of October with a solid four-game stretch of success on the road. During the 4-1 victory at Chapman University, ChubbFertal enjoyed his strongest game to date by converting the first two goals of the contest for the Bulldogs' 2-0 lead. Against Cal Lutheran University, Redlands started fast with a 3-0 lead less than 12 minutes into the game. ChubbFertal slipped a pass into the box for Valeri to finish, which proved to be the game-winner. Although the Kingsmen scored two goals, the Maroon and Gray held on for the 3-2 victory. After ChubbFertal scored the only goal in a 1-0 shutout against non-conference foe, UC Santa Cruz, first-year midfielder Ryan Hulbert (Dixon, CA) and first-year forward Jamie Dulle (St. Louis, MO) fired off the first goals of their Bulldog careers in a 2-1 win at Caltech to culminate the five-game win streak.
The Bulldogs returned home to face 16th-ranked CMS for a super-charged Senior Day. Despite playing with a red card, Redlands battled through 110 minutes to keep the Stags off the board in a 0-0 stalemate. Muñoz stepped up for eight saves, including six in the second half, to allow the Bulldogs to capture a second tie against the nationally-ranked foe.
Now jockeying for postseason position, the Maroon and Gray closed out the campaign with two convincing wins. In the final game of October, senior midfielder Dylan Carlyle (San Jose, CA) dished the opening assists while Acuña scored the game-winner and then dished the assist on the insurance goal of a 3-1 victory against La Verne.
In the regular-season finale against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Redlands earned a 3-0 shutout with three different players finding the back of the net including sophomore defender Peyton Menti (Seattle, WA) with a nice header off of a corner kick and senior midfielder Kalle Sjogrell (Danville, CA) with a crafty unassisted score. Defensively, Menti, Mogharei, and senior defender Oswaldo Magallanes (Juneau, AK) held down the backline while a trio of goalkeepers including Muñoz, and seniors Emilio Raby-Newsom (Chicago, IL) and Noah Natividad (San Diego, CA) protected the posts for the shutout win.
Redlands advanced to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the 12th time and welcomed Whittier College to Farquhar Field for the semifinal. Kovach took matters into his own hands to maneuver past several defenders to notch the first goal of the game in the 25th minute. In the second half, first-year midfielder Joseph Parra (West Covina, CA) added the insurance goal to cement a 2-0 shutout and punch the Bulldogs' ticket to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament final.
Unfortunately, the Maroon and Gray shouldered a tough 0-2 loss to No. 13/25 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to abruptly end its season.
The Bulldogs' overall success was celebrated in the form of seven individual All-SCIAC awards, including Acuna, Valeri, and Menti as First-Team selections. Junior defender Mikey Flota (West Covina, CA), ChubbFertal, Para, and Kovach represented Redlands on the Second Team. In addition, the coaches received the honor of SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Beyond the conference, Acuña, Menti, Valeri, and ChubbFertal also earned All-West Region honors from the United Soccer Coaches.
As a team, the Bulldogs matched a conference-best 32 assists for the season. In total, they finished in the top three of five categories, including second in goals-against with only 17.
Despite the loss of its capable seniors, the Bulldog men's soccer team anticipates the elevated contributions of a talented and youthful core amidst a bright future. The Maroon and Gray are excited about the squad's high ceiling and ability to compete for SCIAC and national success in years to come.