(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Men's Soccer was unable to unlock CUI in a scoreless first half.
Enter
Townsend Meyer and
London Lombana.
The duo subbed in to combine on Meyer's goal in the 67th minute that broke the deadlock, before Lombana set up
Samuel Tuscano's late goal to give Point Loma a 2-0 non-conference victory Wednesday afternoon on PLNU Soccer Field.
"They started coming at us a bit, so it started opening up," Head Coach
Phil Wolf said of the second half. "Obviously when it opens, then more space is created so now maybe there's some chances. I think we fed off that a little bit, as some things started to open and we started to counter a little bit."
The Sea Lions came close to taking the lead multiple times, particularly after the break when
Parker Scalzo hammered a shot off the post and
Niko Kaczmarczyk forced a spectacular save.
But it took a piece of magic from Meyer, who subbed on entering the second half after being rested from the start, for Point Loma to find the back of the net and take the lead.
"Towny is class," said Wolf in effusive praise for the midfielder. "To me, he's one of the best three players in the league. I don't know if everyone knows that, but I think he is.
"We play him in the six which is a pretty defensive position, but we've been moving him forward a little bit more recently and he does have that quality, so it's definitely something for us to think about."
On the goal, Meyer played Lombana in behind the Golden Eagles' backline and continued his run into the box for Lombana to lay off a backheel flick into his path. Meyer controlled his first touch before delicately chipping the ball over the keeper and into the net.
"The first thing that went through my mind was I had to get to the ball first," Meyer said of his mindset on the goal. "I took my first touch toward the goalie and the defender and goalie were right there. I just saw the side of the net, so I scooped it over him.
"I was so happy to score and get the fans involved on the sideline."
Lombana added: "It was just instinct. The guy was hard on my back and I knew that his bodyweight wouldn't be able to get back to the ball if I laid it off. Towny was smart enough to follow up on the pass and was super composed on the finish."
Point Loma appeared likely to add a second, with Lombana nearly providing another assist with his pullback toward Kaczmarczyk and having a header saved.
Corey Lundeen's blast was tipped off the crossbar to keep the margin at one, before PLNU tacked on an insurance goal late on to seal the win.
Tuscano won the ball in midfield and played forward to Lombana, who unselfishly returned a pass to Tuscano to finish off the inside of the right post with just four seconds remaining.
"I'm happy for him," Wolf said of Lombana's two-assist performance in just under 30 minutes on the field. "To have two assists is huge. He's our leading point-getter. I'm proud of him for sticking in there and he'll get another opportunity for sure."
The 2-0 win extended the Sea Lions' unbeaten streak to four matches, in a stretch that includes three clean sheets (two consecutive).
"It feels good to get two again this game and hopefully this is a good sign for things moving forward," Lombana said. "We have one more game before conference and hopefully we keep on winning."
Point Loma (2-3-2 overall) concludes its non-conference schedule with an away matchup at three-time defending PacWest champion Azusa Pacific on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
"Azusa has been the class of the conference for three-consecutive years," Wolf said. "You're going on the road to Azusa in a game that's out of conference. We'd love to see if we can play at the level to beat a team like that. They're the measuring stick, so we're certainly trying to get in that range. Hopefully we'll put a good performance in."
