Junior midfielder Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV) scored two goals on Saturday afternoon to lift the University of Redlands men's soccer team to a 3-1 road triumph over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. On the final Saturday of the conference regular season, the win temporarily vaulted the Bulldogs into first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings.
In a mostly defensive first half, neither side had too many quality chances, with the Bulldogs closest opportunity coming when junior forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) volleyed a left-footed shot towards goal, but the shot was saved, keeping the score at 0-0.
With neither team scoring during the first 45 minutes, both squads came out of the halftime break looking for the breakthrough. The Sagehens struck first when Voja Maric slotted a shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal in the 49th minute of play.
Redlands, unfazed by the goal, went down the field and created a couple of close opportunities before U of R senior defender Richie Marquez (Pomona, CA) was fouled in the box and earned a penalty kick in the 57th minute. Izydorek stepped up and ripped his shot past the diving goalkeeper and into the back of the net, tying the contest at 1-1.
Just two minutes later, junior midfielder Grahame Fitz (Menlo Park, CA) received the ball on the left side near the 18-yard box. After beating his defender and creating enough separation, he crossed the ball and found Kustura in the middle of the box. Kustura made no mistake and one-timed a beautiful shot into the lower-left corner of the net, putting the Bulldogs in front by a goal.
Izydorek and Kustura combined later in the half to nearly get the U of R's third goal, but Izydorek's shot flew just over the crossbar, keeping the score at 2-1 in favor of Redlands.
In the 81st minute, Pomona-Pitzer (8-11-1, 7-8-1 SCIAC) pressed to try and find the equalizer and earned a corner-kick. On the ensuing play, Bulldog freshman defender Tom Elsea (Mission Viejo, CA) did well to clear the ball up towards the halfway line. A Sagehen defender then tried to pump the ball back into the box, but missed on his attempt leaving the ball unattended.
Kustura pounced on the opportunity and took the ball all the way from the halfway line towards goal. The Sagehen defender caught up to block Kustura's initial shot, but the Bulldog midfielder stayed with the play, moved past the goalkeeper and slotted his left-footed shot into the empty net to seal the triumph.
Over the final nine minutes, the Bulldog defense held strong en route to preserving Redlands' fifth 3-1 victory of the campaign. Senior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) and Marquez both played exceptionally well, making the necessary saves and tackles to help secure the triumph. On the day, Silva finished with six saves while earning the win.
On the year, Kustura and Izydorek tied for the team-lead with six goals apiece, while Kustura led the squad with eight assists, giving him a team-best 20 points on the year.
Having done what it needed to do, Redlands jumped into first place with the result. The Bulldogs needed either a loss or tie from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the Stags' 7 p.m. showdown with Whittier College. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, CMS edged Whittier on the road, 1-0.
Redlands finishes the 2013 campaign with a 12-4-0 overall record and a 12-4-0 in SCIAC action. With 36 points, the Bulldogs placed second overall in the conference standings, just one point behind CMS.