Photo by Will MacNeil
Photo by Will MacNeil

Men's Soccer

Point Loma's Season Ends in Pueblo

Sea Lions, playing down a man over the final 20 minutes, see Western Oregon score twice for a 2-0 win in a NCAA Super Region 4 Opening Round match.

PUEBLO, Colo.--Ten minutes away from taking a scoreless draw into extra time, PacWest regular season champion Point Loma saw Western Oregon score twice in the final ten minutes for a 2-0 loss in a Super Region 4 match at CSU Pueblo on Thursday afternoon.

In what was already an even-steven battle during a 0-0 standoff through nearly 80 minutes, No. 9 seed Western Oregon took advantage of the Sea Lions playing a man down with two scores to advance in tournament play. The Wolves (14-4-1) will now play host and No. 1 seed CSU Pueblo on Saturday. 

Point Loma's season comes to a stunning close at 11-4-3.

It was a defensive battle royale for the first three quarters of the match. At halftime, both teams had just four shots, with two on goal for the Wolves and one for the Sea Lions. 

The pace picked up in the second half, but the numbers were still virtually even until the 70 minute mark. That's when a Point Loma player was flagged with a red card, meaning the Sea Lions would play the rest of the match with just ten players. 

It didn't take too long for WOU to take advangage. Defender Evan Huber made his way across midfield and took a blocked shot and flicked it back into the goal for a 1-0 Wolves lead at 79:45. Moments later, Nathan Jimenez supplied insurance with another score at 82:05. 

Point Loma had one more excellent opportunity as the clock was winding down when Simon Sagal fired a shot at WOU keeper Andre Schlaefli, but the Wolf keeper made a fine save to keep PLNU off the board. 

The final shot tally showed Western Oregon with a 11-8 shot margin, 4-2 on goal. Both teams had three corner kicks.