(SAN DIEGO) Despite controlling the majority of possession and outshooting Hawaii Pacific by nine shots, PLNU Men's Soccer had its Senior Day spoiled on Saturday in a 1-0 defeat to HPU.
"Unfortunately, it was a similar game with similar results," Head Coach
Phil Wolf said. "We completely control the game, have the best of the chances and somehow manage to lose the game."
In the first half,
Milan Diklic thought he scored a third goal in two games off a corner kick, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper.
Right back
Matthew Abangan served an inch-perfect cross to winger
Austin Lavell, who would have put the Sea Lions ahead if it weren't for a fingertip save over the bar.
Another fingertip save from HPU's goalie, this time from a
Corey Lundeen header off another Abangan cross, kept the game scoreless.
That was until the Sharks scored in the 33rd minute against the run of play with its only shot on target.
PLNU nearly leveled the match in the last minute of the first half, when
Parker Scalzo brought down a cross with his chest, but his effort was denied by the left woodwork.
In the second half, Point Loma once again looked the likelier of the two to score, keeping endless pressure on the HPU defense.
The Sea Lions earned their best chance of the game in the 67th minute when Lavell was brought down in the box for a penalty kick, but the Sharks' goalkeeper produced yet another fine save, tipping the ensuing spot kick off the cross bar and out to maintain HPU's one-goal lead.
"Hats off to their keeper who kept them in the game," Wolf said.
PLNU kept pushing forward in search of an equalizer, with Lavell's cross finding
Samuel Tuscano, whose shot seemed destined to find the back of the net if not for a sliding defender deflecting the ball out for a corner.
Late on, Abangan provided another quality pass, this time sending
Niko Kaczmarczyk through behind the Sharks' backline, but he sent his effort high as PLNU was unable to find the back of the net despite a 16-7 shot advantage.
The loss spoiled the Senior Day celebration for eight Sea Lions –
Nick Eusebio,
Seth Ketterer,
Dalton Kinney,
Townsend Meyer, Lundeen,
Parker Scalzo,
KC Smith and Tuscano.
"This result doesn't take away anything that these seniors have done over the past several years," Wolf said. "We continue to compete at a high level and it has a ton to do with them. We are incredibly thankful for their work and commitment to our program. We wish them all the best as they go from here."
With two games to play in the regular season, Point Loma (7-6-3 overall, 4-3-1 PacWest) sits in sixth place in the PacWest standings but still within a few points of third place.
In their final two matches, the Sea Lions will take on Academy of Art on Thursday at 1 p.m. and then first-placed Dominican on Saturday at noon.
