If any sport were to beat out cross country for general attractiveness, it would be men’s soccer. These boys are hot! I had the pleasure of witnessing the men’s soccer team in action, in a tough and sweaty game against the loathed CMS on Wednesday. Although normally impassive and stoic, I found myself cheering along with dozens of other students from Pomona and Pitzer. What can I say? All those young men in blue uniforms--it was inspiring.

As you have undoubtedly heard by now, the game ended on a sour note. With a final score of 2-0, CMS robbed us of our rightful victory, breaking the men’s six-game winning streak. This might -make some students bitter. Perhaps, to feel better, one would be inclined to point out the obvious superiorities the average Pomona student has over those cretins at Claremont McKenna (and let’s face it, that is who this game was against), like intelligence, culture, and class. But will that really make us feel better about a game of soccer? Normally, I would say yes. But as a serious and objective sports associate, I must put my personal feelings aside. Back to the game.

The first half ended with the scoreboard matched up, 0-0. Although CMS seemed to be controlling the ball, it gave P-P a chance to showcase our impressive defensive line, with such talented players as An-Yen Hu ’04, Alex Piccarel ’04, and Scott Coleman ’05, who looked strong though recovering from a hamstring injury. Keeper Dan Bendett ‘06 made awesome saves throughout the game.

Our offensive line was on the ball, as well. When the chance arose, forward and middlemen Matt LeeAshley ’04, Ryan Takeshita ’04, and Netza Bravo ‘04 made some nice attempts, riling up the crowd and spooking out the keeper for CMS. Bravo has consistently been a top scorer for P-P this season and throughout his career.

The first goal came 15 minutes into the second half. CMS fans erupted in an obnoxious roar of stupid cheers and girly screams. P-P fans rallied their players on by enthusiastic encouragement when they were in position for a possible goal. Although the goal was never realized, the fans spirits were not dampened.

There were many comments about the referees and the deep injustices committed against P-P, such as the yellow card called on Hu in the second half. The second goal came with approximately 20 minutes left on the clock, but energy remained high until the final buzzer. As one fan remarked, “This is exhausting to watch.”

Pitzer fans maintained their high energy with fresh hamburgers they cooked up right there at the game. Proudly sporting t-shirts saying “CMS is bad at sports,” they reminded us that it is important to have fun and eat.

Although the loss was disappointing, let us not forget that P-P men’s soccer still has an excellent record of 6-1, putting us in good position for conference play. Also, let us not forget that the men’s soccer team has a sexy to non-sexy ratio of 23:0. That’s a mathematical phenomenon. Be sure to catch the home game against La Verne this Saturday morning at 11:00 am.