LA VERNE, CA — The University of La Verne men's soccer team poured on three second half goals on the way to a big 3-0 win over the visiting Whitworth Pirates Sunday evening.
Season Impact
The Leopards get back into the win column and improve to 4-2 overall. The win gives La Verne much needed momentum heading into the start of SCIAC play.
Whitworth falls to 2-3-1 overall.
Goals
Jovanni Garcia added his sixth and seventh goals of the year. The first came in the 52nd minute when he collected a pass outside of the box and beat his defender one-on-one before slipping his shot past the keeper. Garcia leads the SCIAC with seven goals and 18 points. The next closet players total three goals and seven points.
Sean Costello set up Garcia for his second goal of the day. The sophomore won a ball in La Verne's territory, looked up, and sent a perfect pass to a charging Garcia. The forward collected the ball, beat his defender, and sent a hard shot to the left side of the net.
Cesar Rodriguez ended any hope of a late Whitworth comeback when capitalized off a misplayed ball by Whitworth's keeper. Jesus Nunez tapped the ball out of his own reach and Rodriguez ran on and put the shot away for the 3-0 advantage.
By the Numbers
The Leopards bombarded the Pirates early tallying eight shots in the first half. In the final 45 minutes, La Verne needed just six attempts to score its three goals.
The Leopards backline led by Tyler Avila kept Whitworth in check in the opening period allowing just three shots. As the goals mounted against them in the second half, the Pirates stepped up their attack, unleashing 11 shots. But the Leopards didn't break and keeper Kevan Rehmani stepped up to the challenge, picking up five of his six saves during the stretch.
Next Game
The Leopards next host the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in their SCIAC opener. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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