Amidst torrential downpours at Farquhar Field, the University of Redlands men's soccer team surged past the Whittier College Poets on Wednesday evening, 3-1. The Bulldogs scored two goals in the first half and tacked on one more in the second en route to the two-goal triumph.
The Maroon and Gray got things going 17 minutes into the first stanza when senior midfielder Will Walker (Folsom, CA) whipped in a dangerous cross to the head of senior forward Evan Keny-Guyer (Portland, OR) who buried his header into the back of the net. For Keny-Guyer, it was his third goal in as many games for the Bulldogs.
Junior forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) doubled Redlands' lead in the 35th minute when he too scored on a powerful header. On the play, sophomore forward AJ VanderStaay (Bellingham, WA) played a beautiful cross from the right side to Izydorek's diving header. The goal for Izydorek was his team-leading fifth on the campaign.
Whittier created a few dangerous chances during the first 45 minutes as well, but U of R senior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) came up with numerous diving saves to keep the Poets at bay. In all, he tallied five saves during the first half.
By halftime, the Poets had outshot the Bulldogs, 14-9, while the two sides each tallied two corner kicks.
The U of R made it 3-0 in the 67th minute when Bulldog freshman defender Jared Bales (Issaquah, WA) hit a cross from the left side. A Poet defender tried to clear the ball on the play, but it deflected off of his foot and into the back of the net for an own goal.
The Bulldogs continued to apply pressure, gaining a couple more close chances, but no more scores would come. The Poets finally pulled one back in the 89th minute when junior midfielder Tyler Crough (Fresno, CA) tapped in his shot after a deflection in the box.
That would be all the Poets would get, however, as Redlands closed out the game and secured the crucial Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory.
On the night, Whittier (7-4-1, 6-2-1 SCIAC) outshot Redlands, 22-17, while the Bulldogs held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-2. Silva played phenomenally in goal all game for the Maroon and Gray, racking up eight saves in the win.
After the match, Walker talked about the win on the rainy night.
Redlands (7-2-0, 7-2-0 SCIAC) returns to action on Saturday evening when it takes on second-place Cal Lutheran University (8-2-2, 6-1-2 SCIAC) at Farquhar Field. Kickoff between these top-two teams in the conference standings is set for 7 p.m.