It has always been a fun rivalry when Westmont comes to town to play Master's.
But this year's Warriors squad came to Reese Field with more than one mission as they scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Mustangs 5-1 Saturday.
It started well as
Kristjan Reci scored his first goal of the season just 5:41 into the match to give the Mustangs (2-7-2 overall 0-3 in GSAC) the lead. It stayed that way for 20 minutes until Westmont got their first goal, adding a second nine minutes later to go into the locker room with a 2-1 lead.
"We played really well at the beginning and got that one goal lead like we've done a few times," said Head Coach
Jim Rickard. "And then we get stagnant and other teams start figuring us out and start breaking us down. I think at the end of the day, our technical ability -- receiving, passing, trapping, hitting long balls -- I think other teams are better than us. And eventually that breaks us down."
The score stayed that way until the midway point of the second half when, in a span of just eight minutes, Westmont scored three goals to pad their lead. The final goal came with 9:17 to play in the match.
"One thing we had a problem with today was set pieces," Rickard said. "They scored three goals off set pieces like it was a training session. It was way too easy. I just think if you're not going to keep the ball and not continue to score they will break us down.
"I was really optimistic today," he continued. "I thought we were healthy, I had the lineup that I wanted to have, we had a good week of training, and I thought we played well in Arizona (last week) even though we didn't win. So I was definitely surprised to lose like that."
Westmont had double motivation as they were playing to keep pace for a possible conference championship, but their legendary head coach Dave Wolf was coaching what was likely his final game at Reese Field. Coach Wolf, who has helmed the Warriors men's soccer program for 32 years, announced before the start of the season that this would be his last.
"Dave's one of my closest friends in the coaching world," Rickard said. "We give scouts to each other and offer words of encouragement to each other. I hate losing to him, just as he would hate losing to me, but I have the utmost respect for him. We've both had great teams and he has got the better of me so far this year. Maybe we'll get a shot in the playoffs, but it's sad to see him go. I'd like to coach with him someday, somehow. He's a great friend. Congrats to him."
The Mustangs will be back at home on Thursday when they host the Hope International Royals. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
