By
Natalie Smith
Sports Writer
The outcome of Friday’s men’s soccer
game was apparent after just five minutes of play. Pomoona-Pitzer
had found Rutgers’ weaknesses and was ready to pounce. Very
early in the game, the team showed they had come to win. In the
fourth minute of play, the P-P attackers chipped a centering shot
toward the goal. The goalie bobbled the ball and the Sagehens
took advantage of the opening. Wyatt Wells ’03 swooped in
and put the ball into the back of the net.
The Sagehens continued to control play despite a few defensive
breakdowns, strong play and communication from goalie Jay Schneider
’04 kept all threats at bay. However, crosses from outside
were the key to the Sagehens’ success against Rutgers. P-P
continued to overpower the Rutgers team as scoring machine Matt
Lee-Ashley ’04 rebounded a deflected shot and swiftly kicked
it past the outstretched fingers of the Rutgers goalie.
The Sagehen scoring remained strong after the half as the Rutgers
defense was thoroughly outmatched by the P-P strikers. Lee-Ashley
again took advantage of a misplay by the Rutgers goalie. An attempted
punch-out by the Rutgers goalie deflected high in the air and
was intercepted by Lee-Ashley. He took a quick dribble and fired
it in the empty net near the seventieth minute.
The Sagehens received an additional boost when a Rutgers player
received a red card and was ejected from the game after arguing
over a foul with the referee. With the game securely in the Sagehens’
hands, more of the P-P bench players received some valuable game
experience. Not satisfied with a mere 3-0 win, the Sagehens continued
to move the ball upfield. In the eightieth minute the Sagehens
received a free kick from the left side of the field. Netza Bravo
’04 confidently arced the ball into the top-left corner
of the goal, sealing the victory for the Sagehens. For P-P, all
the games should end so happily.
The Hens use early season contests like the Rutgers game to build
momentum and work out off-season kinks before entering competition
against their SCIAC rivals . Although they have a 2-2 record after
the Rutgers game, the losses were incurred against Division II
UC San Diego in a closely fought 2-1 game, and in a second half
meltdown, resulting in a 4-1 loss to visiting Vanguard. They dominated
play over their first win against Webster, even though the score
was only 1-0.
The team seems to be coming together as they ready themselves
for their first SCIAC game on Saturday, at Whittier. Ending last
year in third place in the SCIAC standings, the Sagehens will
try to continue to improve upon their success last season. With
a whole week to prepare for their first conference game, the Sagehens
are in a good position to start off with a win.