Westmont College capped an undefeated Golden State Athletic Conference season in men’s soccer with a 6-0 romp at San Diego Christian on Tuesday.
The 17th-ranked Warriors (6-1-1, 5-0-1) wound up allowing just one goal in six league matches.
“It was a really terrific way to finish up the regular season,” coach Dave Wolf said of the six-goal outburst. “It’s always nice to score goals because usually that’s accompanied by confidence.”
Westmont scored first on an own goal by San Diego Christian (5-6, 1-5) in the 15th minute. Owen Bates scored his fourth goal of the season just three minutes later on an assist from Micah Nelson.
“Owen has definitely hit a different gear,” Wolf said. “His play adds a layer to our attack that’s been missing. It opens things up for Sam (Tuscano), Jona, and everyone else in the final third because if Owen keeps threatening they’re going to have to commit some cover for him.”
Also scoring for the Warriors were Nelson, Cole DiMatteo, Jona Romero, and Joshua Phillips.
Westmont’s next scheduled match is the GSAC Championship game on April 16 against Ottawa University later this month in Surprise, Az.
BOYS SOCCER
SANTA BARBARA 3, DOS PUEBLOS 2
The Chargers led early on a goal by Seba Dupont, but the Dons rallied with three consecutive goals for their cross-town win. Finn Silver also scored for DP. Santa Barbara’s statistics were not made available by press time.
SAN MARCOS 2, CABRILLO 0
Jared Vom Steeg and A.J. Ranii scored for the Royals as they opened Channel League play with a win over the visiting Conquistadores, improving to 3-0 overall.
“We struggled to finish many of our chances but we certainly created lots of them,” coach Paul McLean said. “A.J., Yahir Vasquez and Sergio Diaz were very active tonight. Senior captain J.C. Orgaz did a great job leading our back line.
“It is great to have Caden and Jared Vom Steeg back in the middle for us.”
GIRLS SOCCER
SANTA BARBARA 2, DOS PUEBLOS 0
Liberty Tank got the Dons off on the right foot, scoring off an early corner kick by Isabella Garafolo. Ally Gardner added her first goal of the season on a pass from Kasia Wolf.
PREP BASEBALL
SANTA BARBARA 4, SANTA YNEZ 2
Juan Perez pitched a one-hitter through five innings, allowing just one walk and one run with five strikeouts in the Dons’ road win.
Zac Lee-Pavlik closed out the win, giving up two hits in the last two innings. Jordan Harris went 2-for-4 for Santa Barbara (3-3) with an RBI and a run scored.
Jackson Cloud had an RBI and scored its other run while making his catching debut for Santa Ynez (2-3). Brian Lood and Travis Pratt combined to limit the Dons to five hits.
The Dons lost to Royal 4-1 in Monday’s game. Oliver McGibben had two of Santa Barbara’s hits. Erick Elizalde struck out four batters in two innings of relief and, “really came into his own today,” coach Steve Schuck said.
Royals basketball opener canceled
San Marcos High canceled its Tuesday night boys basketball opener against Oxnard when it failed to receive its weekly COVID test results. Athletic director Abe Jahadhmy said he would try to reschedule the game at a later date.
UCSB halts water polo season
UCSB has cancelled the final three regular-season matches of its women’s water polo team due to what a spokesman described as “COVID-related issues within the program.”
The Gauchos (3-5, 1-1 Big West Conference) will also not participate in the Big West Tournament which begins at UC San Diego on April 30.
“It is unfortunate that we needed to take this action,” director of athletics John McCutcheon said. “But circumstances forced our decision. We will continue to support the team as we progress through this difficult situation.”
UCSB, which was scheduled to play host to Hawaii on Sunday, had lost five of its last six matches., Its last three matches were all lost by two goals or less: 11-9 to No. 11 UC Davis on March 21, 7-6 at UC San Diego on March 26, and 6-5 at UC San Diego on March 27.
UCSB golf finishes 22nd
UCSB struggled to an 18-over par 303 in the final round at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic on the Cattail Course of the Whirlwind Golf Club, ending with a three-round total of 906 (42-over-par) and a 22nd-place finish.
Freshman Andrew Ricci carded a 4-over par 76 to finish the tournament in a tie for 52nd with a 3-over 219. Senior Brandon Bueno was 3-over for the day, finishing at 11-over and tied for 93rd. Freshman John Bush had the best round of any Gaucho on Tuesday as he registered a 2-over 74, finishing at 13-above-par for the tournament, tied for 101st.
GSAC honors Warrior trio
Three key players from Westmont College’s fourth-ranked women’s volleyball team — sophomore Lexi Malone, senior Madison Morrison and sophomore Keelyn Kistner — were honored with Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Week Awards.
Malone was tabbed as Attacker of the Week after leading the undefeated Warriors with 37 kills in four victories. She got 15 of them in Friday’s 3-1 win over San Diego Christian and is now averaging 2.78 per set with an attack percentage of .316.
Morrison earned her second-straight Defensive Player of the Week Award after averaging nearly five digs per set with a receiving percentage of .951. She notched 69 digs, 15 assists, and recorded only four errors in 41 attempts on the week.
Kistner was honored as Setter of the Week for the second time this season after averaging 5.57 assists per set over the four wins. She also had 26 digs and four aces.
Westmont (13-0, 10-0 GSAC) will play its final regular-season match on Friday at 5 p.m. when Azusa Pacific visits Murchison Gym. The Warriors will open NAIA National Tournament play on April 17.
UCSB playing soccer exhibitions
UCSB, which had its men’s soccer season canceled by the Big West Conference because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced that it is playing a seven-game exhibition schedule.
The Gauchos, who played a match at Sacramento State on Sunday, will return to Harder Stadium on April 18 to battle rival Cal Poly in a doubleheader. The matches will start at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
UCSB will also travel to Cal State Bakersfield for a 6 p.m. match on April 25 before playing host to Cal State Northridge in a doubleheader on May 2 and UC Davis on May 8.
email: mpatton@newspress.com
