PASADENA, CA — Maximillian Prato gave the Leopards the lead in the first half, Daniel Ortega doubled the lead in the second, and the University of La Verne men's soccer team cruised on their way to a 2-0 win at Caltech Wednesday afternoon.

Season Impact

With the win, the Leopards improve to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in SCIAC play. La Verne has won five of their last six matches and move into a tie for second place in the SCIAC with Whittier.

Caltech falls to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in conference action.

Goals

In the 32nd minute, Oluwafunminiyi Akanwo crossed the ball to the far side of the box. David Vazquez-Mena gathered the ball and crossed it back to the box. Caltech keeper Chad Thut stepped up and deflected the ball but could not gather it. Prato took advantage and the freshman struck the loose ball to the back of the net for the early lead. The goal marked Prato's first career score.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Jovanni Garcia gathered the ball and drove into the box through a trio of defenders and saw an unmarked Ortega charging towards the goal. Garcia dished the ball to Ortega and junior from Gardena put the ball away to the right side of the net.

Notables

The Beavers kept the La Verne defense busy, totaling nine shots on goal in the match. Kevan Rehmani got the start in goal for La Verne and finished with eight saves. Rene Gonzalez stepped into the game with 13 minutes to play and grabbed one save.

Next Game

The Leopards return home on Saturday for a cruial7 p.m. game against first place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.