The University of Redlands men's soccer team opened up Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition
on Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory against the University of La
Verne on Ben Hines Field.
The Maroon and Gray took charge early in the ball game when
senior defender Danny Connors (Lake
Oswego, OR) crushed his first goal of the season off of a direct
kick.
It looked as if Redlands was pulling away when junior
midfielder and captain Cody Carlson
(Burbank, CA) notched his second goal in as many games, tapping in
freshman midfielder Pat
Roraff's (Redlands, CA) cross. This marked Roraff's first
collegiate point with the Bulldogs.
However, La Verne fought back, and within seconds into the
second half, freshman defender Joshua Hill (Chino, CA) found the
back of the net to make it a 2-1 game.
At the 73rd minute of play, the Maroon and Gray registered
another score, pushing its lead to 3-1 when senior midfielder Gilbert
Flores (Woodlake, CA) posted his first score of the 2010
season.
The Leopards refused to go away as freshman forward Luis Chavez
(Riverside, CA) scored with five minutes remaining in the contest
but Redlands held off any final attempts from La Verne, resulting
in the 3-2 final.
Redlands' junior goalkeeper Jason Smuckler
(Woodland Hills, CA) picked up his second straight win in as many
matches, corralling two saves in 90 minutes of action.
The Bulldogs took 15 shots, compared to La Verne's 14, but
forced the Leopard goalkeeper to make 10 saves.
Redlands men's soccer heads to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for an 11
a.m. kickoff on Saturday.
