SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--After 45 minutes of no score and not a ton of great offensive opportunities for either team, the PacWest Men's Soccer Championship turned on a dime in the second half.

When the smoke cleared after the second 45 minutes, #3 seed Westmont had defeated top seed Hawaii Pacific 3-2 in a wild title match on Saturday afternoon at Kennelly Field. With the improbable victory, the Warriors earn the PacWest's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. They will find out when and where that is on Monday's NCAA Selection Show.

Two years ago in 2024, Westmont was the #2 seed in the tournament and ended up winning the title and NCAA playoff berth. This weekend, it was an even bigger ask as the #3 seed and playing the top squad in Hawaii Pacific.

After a slow start by both squads, with both teams depending on their defense and playing conservatively, the halftime break brought closure to a 45 minutes that featured only ONE shot on goal by either team--that coming from Westmont on a hard shot by Cooper Matthews that was saved by Eduardo Marin.

But the second half was a completely different story. 

The Sharks had the first good opportunity on a Paul Norbert shot that Westmont goalkeeper Aidan Strickler punched out of play. But in the 60th minute, the Warriors stunned the crowd with the match's first goal when Julius Oehmichen sent a beautiful pass on a sharp angle from the left side to Cash Anderholt who flicked in the shot from close range to make it 1-0.

Less than ten minutes later (67:29), Micah Maljian was on a sprint down the left side, covered well but somehow got off a pass to Weston Ash who stepped in to knock it home to push the margin to 2-0. In a defensive battle, a two-goal lead seemed huge at this point.

Until it wasn't.

Just shy of 70 minutes, HPU's Kelly Takara was pulled down in the box and lined up for a penalty kick, which he drilled home. Now it was 2-1 and a ballgame again.

Then in the 75th minute, the Warriors seemingly put the match away when Luis Cortes took a Tiago Aranibar pass and flipped a shot at Marin, who caught the ball but then it slid off his hands and into the goal to make it 3-1 Warriors. 

Still, the Sharks gave it one more great effort. Takara scored his third goal of the tournament after taking a long pass from Olle Ridelious in a pack and somehow headed it in past Strickler. That made it 3-2 with just over seven minutes left.

There would not be final Shark miracle in the last seven 60 seconds. Westmont held on for the 3-2 victory and the celebration began. 

Westmont ended up with a 14-8 shot advantage, including 4-3 on goal. Both teams had three corner kicks.

The Warriors will take a 10-7-5 record into the NCAA tournament, while HPU wraps up 2026 with a 9-6-3 record. 

The tournaments Most Outstanding Player was Hawaii Pacific's Kelly Takara. Earning the Top Defender award was Westmont's Barrett Goodman.

TO SEE THE POST MATCH INTERVIEWS, CLICK HERE.

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