Last Friday, your Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens travelled to Chapman University to take on a team that had scored nine goals in their first three matches. Before the game, Pomona-Pitzer coach Bill Swartz urged his team to stamp their foot on the game and impose their style of play—and this they did. 

For the first half, P-P looked dominant, keeping possession almost entirely in the Chapman half. Although Chapman still looked dangerous on the counter-attack, P-P’s technical excellence shined as they patiently passed the ball around, probing for opportunities to crack a solid Chapman defense. While early shots from Danny Nasry PO '13, Robbie Hull PO '13, and Michael Ceragioli PO '14 threatened Chapman’s goal, Pomona-Pitzer’s back four, anchored by Erik Munzer PZ '13 and sporting three freshmen, held Chapman to very few chances. Chapman struggled to keep the ball or string any passes together. Their best chance of the first half came on a free kick that glazed off the crossbar as time ran out. 

Chapman, apparently recognizing the technical superiority of their opponent, stormed into the second half hoping for a physical battle—and that’s what they got. The start of the second half emerged as a battle between competing styles of play as Chapman sought to take control of the game. Even here, Pomona-Pitzer looked the better team. But then a skillful combination of flicks in P-P’s penalty area gave Chapman their first goal, scored by Mauricio Alfonso. Rattled by this inversion, the Sagehens struggled to keep the ball as they had done in the first half. The patient composure of the first half quickly turned to frustration as they sought to play long balls over the top of Chapman’s defense. With the ball bouncing back and forth across the field, Chapman’s physical style prevailed over a technically better, but smaller, P-P team.  Chapman’s shots jumped from three in the first half to ten in the second half. A rare direct goal off a corner kick, coming again from Alfonso, secured the win for Chapman.

Concerning the environment of the game, Chapman’s first-class athletic facilities contrasted sharply with an apparently classless Chapman fan base. If these rude and drunken fans represent the broader Chapman community, they should be embarrassed.  The tasteless taunts coming from the stands were reminiscent of  immature high-schoolers looking to make up for their own awkward self-consciousness by criticizing others.  Player-specific harassing after the game took disrespectfulness to a new level nearing cruelty. Needless to say, P-P’s next game with Chapman promises to be an extremely competitive endeavor.

Right from the start of Wednesday night's game, the Redlands Bulldogs looked hungry for the back of the net. Seeming to have more energy, Redlands created numerous quality shots in the first ten minutes.  After their first goal, coming off a cross and volley, the Sagehens seemed to bounce back, quickly taking control of the game.  For the rest of the half, P-P dominated possession while Redlands struggled to string more than a few passes together.  Unfortunately, one of Redlands’s few chances in the second part of the first half happened to be a 25-yard rocket of a shot that put them up 2-0.  Pomona-Pitzer’s best chance came off a long string of passes, ending with a quick combination to give Evan Munoz PZ '12 an opportunity to put the Sagehens on the scoreboard—Munoz was called offside.

Redlands’s third goal early in the second half would put Pomona-Pitzer away.  From that point forward, the Sagehens seemed to lose hope: the final score read 6-0—despite numerous saves and notable performances from goalkeepers Rollie Thayer PO '13 and Nigel Brady PO '15.   

Although the scorelines of these two games seem to suggest a completely outmatched and hopeless Sagehen soccer team, their performance on the field reveals a very talented, but obviously underperforming, soccer team.  In their match against Redlands, P-P controlled the ball more than their opponent, but simply could not break them down in the final third.  It is also worth noting that the Sagehens started four freshmen in both games—not to mention a host of others that saw game time.  These extremely talented young players are still adjusting to the more physical nature of the college game.  There's no doubt that many of the Sagehens are better soccer players, in terms of vision, technical ability, and skill, than their opponents.  Once the team finds a way to match the physical aggressiveness of their opponents, they will surely win games.

The Sagehens return home this Saturday against La Verne at 11a.m. Come check out this very talented squad that will surely be seeking to prove themselves to their home crowd!