Varsity soccer went on the road in round two of their Mission League battle against the Harvard Westlake Wolverines.
In the match's early minutes, Senior Willliam Valentine takes it into the box and goes for an upper shot. Valentine has a nice take but it goes just less than a foot over the goal. Later on in the first half, Eric Arreola dribbles on the outer edges of the Wolverine's box and dishes a pass to senior Ben Bolte. Bolte dummies the shot letting it roll behind him to Jake Rodgers '21. Rodgers draws back and bangs it into the bottom right making it 1-0. With two minutes left in the first, it looks like the Wolverines may have a chance to tie it up. The Harvard Westlake striker takes a nice shot from far out, but sophomore keeper Zach Discroll leaps and gets the save off tip of his fingers.
After a quick halftime break, the Wolverines bring a messy attack in Loyola's box and are able to score off a header, 1-1. Fifteen minutes later the Cubs bring the battle back into Westlake's box. A corner kick goes up and the Westlake keeper goes for the grab, but Arreola fights for it and bangs it in making it 2-1. Only a minute later the Cubs create another opportunity. Senior Michael Maloney connects from midfield, brings the ball upfield, and lasers one from outside the box putting it in the bottom right (3-1). In the last two minutes, Jerry Jackson gets played the ball from the backfield, Jackson slips through two defenders in the midfield, then past another two in the Wolverines' box and nails a left-footed shot in the bottom right corner (4-1). And just when the match appeared to be coming to an end, the Cubs go for another. Outside back Nick Ramsbottom sets up a 60 yard through ball to Nate Smith-Hastie. Smith-Hastie faces one defender and persevers past him and scores (5-1).
Monday evening saw a great second half from the Cubs. Held by a confident backline and a persistent offense, this varsity team continues to improve and grow as a unit. On Friday Loyola hosts Crespi at home.