LA VERNE, Calif. — Auden Foxe got the equalizer for a 10-man La Verne side, but the man disadvantage proved too much to overcome for the Leopards in a 4-1 loss to Redlands on Wednesday night at Ortmayer Stadium.
A controversial call in the 30th minute changed the entire complexion of the game. Justin Funes went in for a hard tackle on Austin Moore and clipped Moore's ankle as he finished the play, but seemed to have gotten to the ball first. But the head referee issued a straight red card to Funes, putting the Leopards at a man disadvantage and on their heels.
Already down 1-0 on an early Redlands strike, La Verne reconfigured its position and looked to counterattack to snatch an equalizer.
The Leopards did well to absorb Redlands' possession attack for most of the half and found their moment in the 44th minute. Foxe received a diagonal ball from the left wing by Nathan Gonzalez, trapped it well and struck it to the top of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
La Verne came out of the break playing physically, but the Bulldogs put away two goals in a span of just under three minutes to run away from the Leopards. Alexander Knox, who notched the opening goal, scored his second of the game in the 53rd minute on an assist by Chase Boone and returned the favor to assist Boone in the 55th minute. Casey ChubbFertal added an insurance goal in the 72nd minute.
The Leopards will regroup and return to action on Saturday at Whittier.
