Junior goalkeeper Logan Frank recorded seven saves to post a shutout, but the Warriors were also held scoreless on opening day of the Heritage Club Classic at Westmont’s Russ Carr Field.

“I thought our back line played a solid match out there today,” said Frank. “[Matt] Moser is the leader back there every game. He’s solid and gets his tackles in. T.J. [McKillop] played well – got up the line and hustled all over the field today. [Ryan] Wisdom stepped up when Joe Cover went down. And Sergio was solid when he came in.”

Joe Cover was forced from the game in the ninth minute when a collision resulted in an injury. Cover’s was the second injury of the game. The first came just five minutes after the opening kickoff when the Yellowjackets’ Jesus Rodriguez suffered an injury that resulted in a call to the paramedics and a 30 minute delay.

A hard playing Graceland team frustrated the Warrior offense which launched eight shots in the game, three of which were on goal. The Warriors were limited to two shots in the first half. Forty-six seconds into the game, a shot by senior midfielder Luke Williams was blocked by a Yellowjacket defender and at the 21:10 mark junior Michael German’s shot went wide of the goal.

Westmont would not get off another shot until the third minute of the half when senior TJ McKillop’s attempt was saved by Graceland goalkeeper Ben Berning. Williams had another shot blocked in the 57th minute and McKillop sent one wide in the 73rd.

Westmont’s intensity increased in the final 10 minutes of the game resulting in three opportunities to score a winning goal. However, shots by junior Sam Hartman and senior Jeff Oehlman resulted in saves for Berning, and a shot by Williams deflected off the crossbars.

Frank’s three saves in the first half and four in the second, kept Westmont in the contest. Frank’s second save came in the 41st minute. Graceland’s Mike Myer’s received a long pass and angled toward the goal from the right side of the field. Taking a clear shot as he crossed in front of the goal, Myer’s attempted to send the ball back toward the right side of the net. But Frank dove to his left and snatched the ball from the air to prevent the score.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Frank denied Filip Prostran an opportunity to put the Yellowjackets ahead. “The ball was sent into the box and was getting bounced around by a couple of different players,” recalled Frank. “Then [Prostran] put his foot on it. I saw it come out over everyone’s heads and so I tried to push it over the bar.” He succeeded.

“As long as we keep getting shutouts, we are not going to loose any games,” said the keeper. “The goals will come and the wins will come with them.”

In the Heritage Club Classic’s early game, the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific and the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino played to a 1-1 tie. Fresno Pacific’s Amaury Nunes scored the first goal of the game in the 25th minute on a penalty kick. The Coyotes secured their goal in the 34th minute when a shot by Lorenzo Larson bounced off the left post and Barry Steele pushed the rebound into the net.

The Heritage Club Classic resumes tomorrow, but not until after the 11:00 a.m. Westmont Women’s Soccer season opener against Cal State San Bernardino. The first of the men’s games will start at 1:00 and feature Fresno Pacific against Graceland. The Warriors will host Cal State San Bernardino in a 3:00 p.m. contest. All three matches will be held on Russ Carr Field.

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