Kingsmen Earn Clean Sheet Against Leopards
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Holding La Verne scoreless in Thousand Oaks for the third consecutive season, Cal Lutheran defeated the Leopards 5-0 to earn its first victory of the season.
Box Score: CLU 5, ULV 0 - F
Led by sophomore forward Lucas Kurzon and his two-goal effort, four different players were able to help the Kingsmen also leave Mt. Clef Stadium with their first SCIAC win.
In addition to Kurzon who is now tied with junior forward Raul Yepez with a team-high three goals, senior defender Josh Hibbert, freshman midfielder David Lee, and sophomore forward Kevin Tanner all earned their first career goal in Saturday afternoon's contest.
Kurzon's goals were scored in the 40th and 53rd minute, with his trio of teammates finding the back of the net in the sixth, 50th, and 76th minutes.
As successful as Cal Lutheran was on both sides of the pitch against La Verne, Saturday's final score may have looked a little different were it not for the efforts of Tyler Pascoe.
Successfully stripping the ball away from one of La Verne's forwards in the final minutes of the first half, the freshman midifelder then dribbled his way along the sideline past both benches, and forced the Leopards' back-line to make a crucial decision.
Those defenders could either focus their efforts on Pascoe and force him towards the corner in an attempt to slow the CLU attack, or sit back and defend against the onslaught of Kingsmen that were racing towards La Verne's goal.
Once La Verne made its decision, Pascoe reacted accordingly, delivering a pinpoint pass that Kurzon successfully redirected moments later to double CLU's lead.
Called upon in the second half to take one of CLU's 10 corner kicks, Pascoe earned his second point of the afternoon when Lee transformed his pass across the La Verne penalty area into CLU's third goal.
Once he gained possession of the ball, only a slight dribble was needed for Lee to create the space needed to blast a shot past ULV goalkeeper Richard Duran.
Of the nine shots La Verne recorded, CLU sophomore goalkeeper Rey Rivera-Ramos needed to only make one save to earn his first career shutout victory.
Cal Lutheran finished with a total of 17 shots.
The next game for Cal Lutheran (1-6, 1-2 SCIAC) will take place at Whittier (2-5, 2-2 SCIAC) this Wednesday, September 28. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
