Tempers flare in summer heat as Oxy loses opener

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Sept. 5, 2009) – The Occidental College men’s soccer team kicked off the first game of their 2009 season with a promising start. Yet the Tigers’ quick offense and mighty defense could not hold back the Concordia College-Moorhead Cobbers, suffering a 3-1 loss at the Lower Soccer Field.

Freshman Reid Sakamoto established himself as a force to be dealt with along the back line as juniors Kosa Goucher-Lambert and Rob Riccardi showed Oxy’s ability for swift attacks along either side of the field.

Tied at zero until the half, the Tigers’ sole goal came off a powerful corner kick by Riccardi as junior Deryck Lim leapt above the surrounding defenders and headed the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net.

The Cobbers responded by scoring a penalty kick from a foul called on Occidental, knotting the game at 1-1.

At that point the anger and frustration caused by the heat could be seen weighing down upon both teams, who overall combined for 25 fouls. Oxy committed one of their fouls near their own goal, leading to a free kick where the Cobbers scored with an elegant header over Ian Powell, the Tigers goalkeeper. Powell finished the game with seven saves.

The final goal of the match arose from a defensive mistake and the Cobber forward encountered Powell alone in front of the net, and despite his best efforts, he could not save Oxy from allowing a third goal.

Within the loss, however, freshmen Kyle Scoble and sophomore Ryan Trujillo displayed large amounts of technique, speed, and strength in the middle of field with a commanding presence while having limited playing time.

Also donning black and orange for the first time of his career today were Quinn Foley, Ben Murray, Daniel Watson, and sophomores Nolan Borgman and Will Moseley.

Today the teams combined for 26 shots and 11 corner kicks. While Powell made seven saves, Concordia-Moorhead’s goalie, Mads Schmidt, allowed just one goal and made six saves.

The defeat revealed the potential for a successful season as Occidental looks forward despite the loss.

Occidental travels to Chapman University on Monday, Sept. 14 to face the Panthers at 4:00 p.m.

Article: Marco Castanos, Student Reporter