In a match-up of schools with the same nickname, Westmont Men’s Soccer (2-0) defeated William Jessup (0-2) by a score of 3-1 this afternoon on the final day of the Azusa Pacific Cougar Classic. Westmont jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the tenth minute of play on an own goal.

“It originated with a Doug Harrell cross but was put into the net by one of their guys,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “While it is always nice to get an early goal, it was just kind of odd.”

Less than two minutes later, Westmont doubled its lead on a goal by freshman Peter Schmetz.

“Dan Sargent got to a ball in the box and headed it in Peter’s direction,” reported Wolf. “Peter scored on a bicycle kick that he looped up over the goalkeeper and into the far post. To see Peter launch himself into the air with his big lanky frame showed a good bit of athleticism. It was a spectacular goal.”

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Rick McCarthy is having a great start to his college soccer career. Five days after scoring in the Warriors’ exhibition game against #6 UC Santa Barbara, the freshman from Harbor Springs, Michigan provided the winning goal in the season opener for Westmont (1-0). The game, played against Trinity Western of British Columbia (0-2), was contested at Azusa Pacific as a part of the Cougar Classic.

“It wasn’t a great performance by any stretch – kind of an uneven and choppy game. But we came away with one and I guess at this point we will be satisfied with that,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf.

In the nineteenth minute of the game, junior Zach George threw the ball in from the left-hand sideline near the top of the box.

“They didn’t do a great job of dealing with the long throw from Zach,” said Wolf. “The ball skipped through to Rick and he hit a low hard left-footed shot.”

The successful George-to-McCarthy combination would stand as the only goal of the game, giving the Warriors a 1-0 victory.

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2010 Westmont Men’s Soccer Season Preview

Westmont Men’s Soccer will face a good many adjustments this season. The roster will look different with the loss of nine players from last year and the addition of ten new faces. Add to that the opening of a new facility and Westmont Head Coach Dave Wolf finds himself unwilling to make many predictions about the coming season.

“I felt a lot surer last year of what we had and how we were going to do,” said Wolf, who is entering his twentieth year at the helm of the program. “However, I was off target with a lot of my prognostications. I would say that I am less sure this year. But I don’t necessarily look at that as a bad thing. It just takes time to figure out who you are (as a team).”

Wolf and his team will launch the effort to “figure out who they are” in the new environs of Thorrington Field.

“I think the new facility might be the biggest single impact on this upcoming season,” said Wolf. “The first thing that strikes you is the quality of the surface. That enables us to play a very slick, passing game – if we have the quality to do it.

Westmont men’s soccer traveled across town on Saturday to take on #6 UC Santa Barbara in the forty-eighth edition of the Bryant and Son’s Cup. The Warriors fell to the Gauchos 3-1 but still hold the series advantage 23-21-4.

Ricky McCarthy scored the Warriors’ lone goal in the sixty-fifth minute of play, assisted by Tony Niboli.

“Tony was coming up at the top of the box,” described McCarthy. “I had a clear opportunity. The defender was drawing near to Tony, so he laid it off into space. Then the defender was nearing and I tried to stay away from him. I hit it as hard as I could and it went (into the) side netting.

“It feels amazing,” said McCarthy about the goal. “I give it all to God, he’s the one who got me here. It is amazing to open up against UCSB, the sixth team in the nation. What an experience to be here in front of everyone and to do that.”

In a ceremony held outside the new Westmont Observatory, Westmont President Gayle Beebe presided over the dedication of four new facilities on the Westmont Campus – Westmont Observatory, Westmont Track, Thorrington Field and Russ Carr Field.

Athletic Director Dave Odell and Associate Athletic Director Kirsten Moore participated in the ceremonies, as did Track and Field Coach Russell Smelley and Men’s Soccer Coach Dave Wolf. Women’s Soccer Coach Kristi Kiely and Baseball Coach Robert Ruiz were also on hand to participate in the ribbon cutting to the new facilities.

Odell shared a conversation which he had regarding the new facilities with his son, Walker. The seventh-grader described the new fields as Westmont’s renaissance.

Fans of Westmont Athletics can now receive text message alerts on their cell phones or by email.

The eScores service will allow subscribers to choose to receive text messages on any or all of the 12 Westmont Athletic Teams. Users can elect to receive scores, broadcast reminders and headlines and general information. With the new service, Westmont fans will receive information about their favorite teams and players faster than ever.

The eScores service will be offered free of charge, though standard text messaging fees from a users’ cell phone provider will apply.

To sign-up for text messaging, visit the Westmont Athletics Web Site and click on the eScores logo.

Three members of the Westmont Men’s Soccer Team have been recognized by the Golden State Athletic Conference for their outstanding performances. Seniors Dillon Barna and senior Hugo Pizano were named to the 2009 All-GSAC Men’s Soccer Team while junior Dan Sargent was recognized as a GSAC Scholar-Athlete.

Barna, a tenacious player who served as the backbone of the Warrior defense, received all-conference honors for the third year in a row. Head Coach Dave Wolf has referred to Barna as one of the all-time best Warrior defenders. In addition to his defensive effort, the Phoenix resident scored four goals for the Warriors this season. Barna served as one of the team captains this year.

Pizano, a local product who played for Dos Pueblos High School and Santa Barbara City College before transferring to Westmont in his junior year, produced seven goals and had one assist for the Warriors this season. A central midfielder, Pizano played a pivotal role in the Warriors offensive efforts this season.

Sargent is a junior history major at Westmont with a 3.94 GPA. On the field, Sargent is a forward who played in all 16 games and started six. Sargent, who hails from Hamilton, Mass. scored one goal for the Warriors this season and contributed an assist. Sargent was also one of this year’s team captains.

After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, Westmont and The Master’s decided who would advance to the GSAC championship game by shooting penalty kicks. The top-seeded Mustangs won the PK battle 5-3 and will host Biola next Saturday for the GSAC title. Biola defeated Azusa Pacific this afternoon by a score of 1-0.

“We continued to defend well against a very good team,” said Westmont Head Coach Dave Wolf. “The Master’s is a tough team to keep off the board.”

The Master’s out shot the Warriors 16 to eight but held only a six to five shots-on-goal advantage. Matt McNab had six saves for the Warriors.

“We were pretty good early in the game,” said Wolf, “but I think all the travel and set backs began to show up as the game went on. We started getting more into the game again near the end of regulation and into the overtime periods.”

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