(SAN DIEGO) No. 16 PLNU Men's Soccer clinched a third-straight PacWest championship with a dominant 9-0 victory over Jessup on Thursday.
"This trophy is about the consistency and character of the group, that can just show up and play every single game at a high level," Head Coach
Phil Wolf said. "For the third year in-a-row we've shown that we're that group. That speaks of their character and who they are, so I'm really proud of them."
For the first time, however, Point Loma celebrated the outright conference title on its home field after being forced to do so on the road the past two years.
"It was set up so perfectly, the last two games being at home for us to win the conference at home," Wolf said. "I'm super happy for the group of guys for showing the real character and consistency of what it means to win over and over and over."
The Sea Lions scored nine goals in their PacWest clincher for the second consecutive season, after defeating Academy of Art 9-1 last year, scoring five in the first half and another four in the second.
Emmett Layman opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finishing from close range after
Niko Kaczmarczyk and
Cole Friesen combined in the right corner.
Simon Sagal then scored the next two Sea Lions' goals, his first coming less than two minutes after PLNU's opener, with Kaczmarczyk slipping Friesen through to pull it back for Sagal to finish first time.
Sagal then converted from the spot in the 17th after
Zack Mercieca was fouled in the box.
Friesen got on the scoresheet himself in the 25th minute, with Mercieca latching onto
Shawn O'Brien's forward pass before crossing to Friesen to score Point Loma's fourth. Friesen hit milestones of 50 goals and 20 assists for his collegiate career combining his three years at Whitworth prior to transferring to Point Loma.
Mercieca rounded out the scoring in the first half just 40 seconds later after Kaczmarczyk intercepted the ball in the midfield and fed Mercieca through on goal.
Oz Rocca then scored twice in the second half, poking home a
Christopher Burgos Lara cross in the 55th minute.
Keoni Young weaved his way past a few Jessup defenders to score PLNU's seventh, before
Frankie Garton scored his first career collegiate goal, as his deflected shot looped over the opposing goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Garton then turned provider, feeding Rocca to score his second and the team's final goal of the game in the 85th.
Point Loma entered the day knowing three points in its final two games would be enough to three-peat as conference champions. With a dominant performance, the Sea Lions ensured they would go into the final day having already clinched the conference title and the No. 1 seed in next week's PacWest Tournament.
"Why leave it for Saturday?," Wolf said. "Obviously the way this whole thing works, every game matters. I'm just super excited for the guys that it's out of the way and we want to have a good performance on Saturday in our last home game."
Point Loma (12-3-1 overall, 8-1 PacWest), which set a new NCAA-era program record for most goals scored in a season (47), hosts Fresno Pacific on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. on Senior Day.
"This is the most successful four-year run in the history of Point Loma soccer of over 50 years," Wolf said. "All those guys have a ton to do with it. Some guys started with me four years ago; our captain Curtis is a one-year guy. Everyone is coming from different points, but I'm just so proud of them that they can walk off the field as a champion and just what they're doing for Point Loma.
"I feel like we're getting better and that's an important thing to me that we're improving. That has a lot to do with those guys."
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