Occidental holds Leopards in check
Campus Times
November 6, 1998
Freshman forward Art Pico fights for position as another Leopard defender,
freshman Matt Stone runs in to help in Tuesday's SCIAC game against Occidental
in Eagle Rock. The Leopards scored on a header from junior Ryan Graham,
but fell short, 2-1.
by Enrique Gutierrez
For the Campus Times
The University of La Verne men's soccer team has been struggling to
score. However, although it creates opportunities, it just cannot finish
them.
On Tuesday, the Leopards traveled to Occidental, trying to develop a
more efficient offensive game. The Leopards came out with a 2-1 loss.
The only Leopard goal was born in the 74th minute with a left side corner
kick by junior midfielder Jorge Macias. Junior midfielder Ryan Graham then
beat the Occidental goalkeeper with a solid header off the pass.
However, the game was characterized by the constant interruptions. There
were 43 fouls committed, 28 of which were committed by La Verne.
"The referee let a lot of stuff go and that set the tone,"
said Occidental coach Costa Nicolaou, "but I've seen worse."
He also said that his team showed it is "as good as any team. It
just takes us a little bit of time to get going."
"Our problem was that we lost our heads and forgot about the game,"
said Macias.
What happened to the team Saturday was not much different.
La Verne dominated the game and deserved to score. But in soccer, goals
are not deserved, they are achieved.
Whittier College scored once, and it was enough to defeat the Leopards,
1-0, in a SCIAC game played at Ben Hines Field.
"They [Whittier] are not a great team, but they're consistent;
they never give up," said Macias.
La Verne created many opportunities from the beginning of the game.
The Leopards' first clear opportunity to score came in the fourth minute
of the game. Freshman forward Remy Rodriguez's shot was stopped by Whittier's
goalkeeper Gus Ramirez, and a defender cleared the ball for the first of
six corner kicks for La Verne.
Ten minutes later, Rodriguez had the best opportunity for the Leopards
during the game. He received the ball on a breakaway and faced Ramirez on
a one-on-one situation. However, his 12-yard shot went over the goal.
The only goal of the game came in the 29th minute. Whittier's forwards
Jason Chandler and Ian Hughes combined in a well-executed give-and-go that
left La Verne's defenders stuck to the ground as the ball met the net of
the goal.
"I got the ball in the outside and passed it in; then, Ian gave
me a through ball, and so I passed the keeper for the goal," Chandler
said.
The Leopards kept pressuring their opponent throughout the entire game
but were erratic when they had to finish the plays.
"I thought we outplayed them, but we could not finish," said
ULV head coach Mike Collins. "We had three solid opportunities as far
as break aways to score, and we could not score.
"I think we were just looking to hit the ball on goal vs. finding
the area in which we wanted to hit it."
In fact, 10 of the 17 shots attempted by the Leopards were not on goal.
"We need a lot of work in our finishing," said Rodriguez.
"The game was pretty slow. It wasn't very offensive, neither team
could get anything going," said Whittier's assistant coach Scott Manson.
"I don't think we really accomplished what we wanted to, but at
least we walk out of here with a win," Manson said.
On the other hand, Collins said that it was frustrating for his players
because all the hard work they put in did not pay off.
"Unfortunately, we came out in the short end," he said.
But the game was not the only thing the Leopards lost. They also lost
freshman forward Carlos Ramirez.
Ramirez suffered a serious injury when he tried to block a ball from
the goalkeeper, Gus Ramirez. Both players had to leave the field; Gus did
so limping, Carlos in an ambulance. He was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital
with a broken leg, but further examination is required to determine his
situation.
"We both went for the ball," said Gus Ramirez, who was a little
sore after the incident.
"It was a clean play, but Carlos had bad luck," said Macias.
"We hope to finish the season with a win."
The Leopards finish their season tomorrow at Caltech at 11 a.m.
