CLAREMONT, Calif. — Justin Almandinger had his penalty kick turned away early in the second half and Pomona-Pitzer's Felipe Galvis converted his in the 72nd minute as the University of La Verne men's soccer team fell to No. 23 Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday afternoon.
How it happened: Trailing 1-0 at halftime, La Verne came out of the break with more aggressiveness. The Leopards bombed forward as soon as the second half whistle blew and drew a penalty shot.
Almandinger, who scored the game-winner on a spot kick to beat Whittier last Saturday, stepped up to take the shot again today. However, Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper Nigel Brady was able to step up, make the save and deflected ensuing shot off the rebound over the crossbar to preserve the Sagehens' lead.
The Leopards still managed to find the equalizer in the 65th minute when Anton Russell drove up the left flank, crossed the ball into the box and Saul Uribe one-touched it into the net off the post.
La Verne looked to have settled down until an unlucky bounce and a handled ball led to a Pomona-Pitzer penalty shot. La Verne goalkeeper Greg Veron guessed wrong and Galvis beat him to the right for what turned out to be the game.
Pomona-Pitzer pressured La Verne early and broke through with the opener in the 15th minute. Matthew Marvin intercepted a bad clearance attempt, dribbled past a defender and drove one in from about 20 yards out.
Player of the game: Veron made a total of eight saves and had a couple of nice deflections that prevented the Sagehens from taking bigger leads.
Uribe, who has been battling an injury, got back on the board for the first time since Sept. 15. He had three total shots in addition to the gaol.
Stat of the game: Pomona-Pitzer outshot La Verne, 22-10, and Voja Maric had a total of seven shots for the Sagehens.
What it means: The Leopards (8-5-1, 5-5 SCIAC), who went into the match in a three-way tie with Redlands and Occidental for fourth place, drops to sixth place in the standings. Occidental (5-4 SCIAC), Whittier (4-4-1) and Cal Lutheran (2-6-1) are all in action later on Saturday.
Only three points separate second-place Redlands (6-4) and La Verne.
Up next: The Leopards return to action on Oct. 13 at Chapman (5-4-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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