The University of Redlands men's soccer team hosted the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen for a Friday night exhibition match under the lights of Farquhar Field. The Bulldogs took control early on and never looked back eventually shutting out the Kingsmen, 3-0.
Senior midfielder Antonio Chavez (Santa Ana, CA) made his presence known early in the game by taking a corner kick and firing off a shot in just the first seven minutes of action. His hard work paid off in the 10th minute as he quickly made his way up the right flank. Chavez sent a cross in front of the goal that found senior midfielder Collin ChubbFertal (Eugene, OR). ChubbFertal then dinked it to junior forward Steve Acuña (Pico Rivera, CA), who sent the ball past a diving Cal Lutheran keeper for the early 1-0 lead.
The Maroon and Gray did not let off the gas pedal, scoring another just nine minutes later. Senior midfielder Derrin Valeri (Atlanta, GA) fired a hard shot from the top of the box that was blocked right in front of the goal area. But ChubbFertal was in the right place at the right time and found the back of the net off the deflection, giving Redlands a 2-0 advantage at 18:05.
Defense intensified for both teams as play remained near midfield for the next 20 minutes. The Bulldogs created a couple of opportunities late in the half, including when junior midfielder Jonathan Cheung (Hong Kong, China) sailed a shot high before Valeri flicked a header on-goal, but the Kingsmen keeper made the stop. Cal Lutheran peppered the Redlands goal in the final minute of the half but sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Gettman (Boise, ID) locked it down with two saves to allow the Bulldogs to enter the half up 2-0.
Redlands kept up the offense by out-shooting the Kingsmen 9-4 in the second half. Senior defender Arian Mogharei (Hayward, CA) showed his versatility with two shots on-goal. In the 68th minute, Valeri put the ball down after a foul and sent a screaming free-kick past multiple Cal Lutheran defenders for an impressive third and final goal.
Although the Kingsmen offense picked up, first-year goalkeeper Seth Lawrence (Redlands, CA) made a leaping, highlight-reel save on the top left corner in the 70th minute to keep Cal Lutheran off the board and preserve the shutout.
Mogharei, senior defender Mikey Flota (West Covina, CA), and sophomore defender Andrew Torres (Oceanside, CA) provided a high-quality backline to keep the Kingsmen opportunities at bay and secure the win.
ChubbFertal and Valeri ended the night with a goal and an assist each while Acuña added a goal and Chavez one assist. Gettman and Lawerence teamed up for a combined four saves.
Redlands heads to Thousand Oaks on Friday, March 26, for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against the Kingsmen.
