I’m sure entire books could be written about how chaos theory applies to sports. But since TSL does not give me unlimited space, I guess I’ll just have to talk about a case study: last Saturday’s must-win SCIAC showdown between the Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lu men’s soccer teams.

Coming off a tough loss to undefeated Redlands, the Sagehens needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. It took a good deal of luck and some late-game heroics from Evan Munoz PI ’12 and Ryan Miller PO ‘14, but P-P took care of business and emerged with a 2-1 comeback victory.

“This was the first time we’ve come from behind to win a game,” Coach Bill Swartz said after the game. “I thought that showed a lot of character, not to give up.”

Indeed, Pomona-Pitzer had a lot working against them. The number one factor contributing to the chaos was the weather. Cal Lu’s field was wetter than the Ganges after two straight days of rain, and both teams were having trouble with basic physical tasks—controlling the ball, staying on their feet, completing passes, etc.. Nerves were almost certainly a factor as well, given that both teams were vying for a playoff spot.

Factor number two was the referee. He wasn’t biased, but he didn’t blow his whistle all that much either. Players on both teams got away with whatever they could, which meant that Cal Lu’s stocky, Oddjob-like central midfielders did everything short of putting Danny Nasry PO ’13 in a sleeper hold before the game was over.

To be fair, Pitzer’s own Erik “The Human Hitstick” Munzer ’13 threw his substantial weight around as well, much to the ire of the hometown fans.

Despite the circumstances, the Sagehens came out strong in the first 20 minutes and essentially dictated the terms of the game. P-P enjoyed a lot of dangerous possession in front of Cal Lu’s goal. Nevertheless, the Kingsmen struck first after one of their strikers stole a botched back-pass in the 27th minute and beat keeper Nate Anderson PO ’12 to the near post.

The Sagehens were bursting at the seams with frustration. It looked like the game—and indeed, the season itself—was unraveling right before their eyes.

“We came out hard for the first 20 minutes,” Swartz later said. “We let up a little bit in the middle of the game, but luckily we finished up the match strong.”

Cal Lu had a chance to put the game out of reach toward the end of the first half, when Anderson came off his line to smother a through ball. In the slippery conditions, the ball bounced squarely off of his chest, and, with Anderson lying helpless on the ground, a Kingsman striker wheeled around and fired an off-balance chip shot toward the center of the goal. All eyes were fixed on the shot as the fate of two teams and the hopes of Sagehen Nation hung in the balance.

Fortunately, the ball clanged off the crossbar and the P-P fans in attendance breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Sagehens limped into halftime down 1-0.

The second half didn’t start off much better. P-P spent much of the first 30 minutes hunkered down defending its own goal, trying to keep the game from getting out of hand. Coach Swartz sent on a wide variety of substitutes to try to spark some offense, but nothing seemed to click.

Finally, with about 12 minutes remaining, Nasry stole a ball in the midfield and did his best Lionel Messi imitation, dribbling through four CLU defenders before finding freshman Ryan Miller at the top of the box. Miller showed excellent strength and poise as he lined up his shot and, with two defenders rapidly closing on him, launched a left-footed rocket into the top corner. The ball bounced off the bottom of the crossbar, over the goal line, and back out into the field. Luckily for the Sagehens, the assistant referee correctly ruled it a goal over the protests of Cal Lu players.

“Ryan’s work rate has been outstanding,” Swartz said. “In practice and in games, he’s one of our most physical players. And he’s only going to get better and stronger as the season goes on.”

With the game all tied up, the Sagehens started to show new signs of life. Led by Munoz, a late substitute who scored a game-winner in overtime at Cal Lu last year, the team pushed forward into the attacking third. With just 1:40 remaining in regulation, P-P won a free kick about 40 yards from goal. Alec Larson PO ’11 stepped up to take the kick.

“I was just trying to put it somewhere around Eben [Perkins] PO ‘11,” he said later. “I know he can get to almost anything in the air.”

Larson pulled out his nine-iron and served up a beautiful ball into the box. Perkins did yeoman’s work to outmuscle both a defender and the CLU keeper to get his head on the ball. After a couple of ricochets, the ball fell right at Munoz’ feet, and he put the bulge in the back of the old onion bag to make it 2-1. For the second year in a row, Munoz celebrated after stunning Cal Lu.

Asked why he decided to substitue Munoz for Miller, Coach Swartz said, “I had a feeling he was going to score a goal. He’s had a hop in his step for the last week or so in practice, and he nearly scored in the Redlands game. It was just one of those things where if it works out, you look like a genius, and it worked out for us in the end.”

Jubilant, the Sagehens almost forgot to defend their goal for the final two minutes, but held on until the final whistle.

Former Sagehen Andrew Stamm PO ’10, who knows a thing or two about last-second goals, was in the crowd on Saturday. In 2008, he scored with two seconds left on the clock to beat CMS at their home field.

“I know it’s been a tough season, but I’m proud of the way these guys played today,” he said. Getting wistful, he added, “I do see a little of myself in Munoz—I mean, we have completely different styles, but you can’t teach clutch.”

With three games coming up against the third and fifth-ranked teams in SCIAC, as well as a rematch with second-ranked CMS to determine the winner of the Golden Boot, Pomona-Pitzer has its work cut out over the next two weeks. The Sagehens play at home tomorrow against Cal Tech.