Men's soccer at a loss for wins

by Chrissy Zehrbach
Sports Editor

The University of La Verne men's soccer team is stuck in a losing streak that has stretched four games. The latest of which being Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and the University of Redlands.

Redlands, the defending Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions, made the Leopards their victims Wednesday night, 3-0, and for the seventh game this season, ULV was held scoreless.

The Leopards dropped the match against CMS, 5-1, saturday in Claremont.

ULV started the game with a lot of intensity, but that intensity was lost soon after the Stags scored 17 minutes into the game.

"They're strong in the air and they capitalized on our mistakes," said Steven Lane, forward.

CMS added three more goals for a 4-0 halftime score.

"When you're down they take it to you," head coach Cres Gonzales said.

The Leopards had many scoring opportunities of their own in the game but were unable to take advantage of them. The Leopards took only three shots on goal in the entire game.

"The biggest challenge was getting the ball up front and scoring," said Edgar Manzo, forward.

The one-sided calls from the referees threw off the game, forcing ULV out of their groove and concentration.

"We must learn to maintain concentration through the entire half," Gonzales said.

ULV picked up the pace at the start of the second half. Aggressiveness and more physical play also picked up on both sides.

"The second half was a different game ­ we were on them much more," Manzo said. "The first half set us back and we didn't put it back together until the second half."

With new-found momentum, Manzo scored the lone goal for the Leopards midway through the second half. The Stags added another goal with nine minutes remaining in the game to make the final score 5-1.

"I'm encouraged by the fact that we did not let down," Gonzales said.