Men’s Soccer Pushes the Limit
Whittier College’s Men’s Poet Soccer team has had a successful 2023 season thus far. The team has played six games, taking home three Poet victories and three losses where they were only one point behind their opponents.
The team has played three Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) qualifying games and has lost two of them, and won one of them. It’s clear that when the team is at its full potential, they are a force to be reckoned with, evident by their winning game against La Verne University on Wednesday, Sept. 20, which was a great success with Poets taking home the victory of 4–0. The first-year goalkeeper, Breckon Robirds, turned away 11 shots from the La Verne team, which placed Whittier in the lead. Third-year Jazey Zavala was also given recognition in the game for being able to keep up with Captain Lawrence Dydell and putting pressure on La Verne’s defense.
The game recap comments on the team’s losing games include an observation of the team losing energy throughout the game. During the game against Occidental at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 16, the men’s soccer team was close to winning the match, but in the 84th minute, the Tigers scored a goal and tied with our team. Despite facing difficult opponents, the team does not give up easily.
In their first SCIAC game at Memorial Stadium against Pomona-Pitzer on Sept. 15, the team gave their all throughout the entire game and did not relent. Captain Saar Swanson spoke about his team’s chemistry after the game, stating optimistically, “our team is very close, which allows us to enjoy ourselves while competing and demand the best out of each other.”
Overall, it is obvious that the Men’s soccer team continues to push for success and progress with the continuation of their 2023 season, and they are having fun doing it. Their next home game is scheduled to take place on Sept. 27 against the Caltech Beavers, which should be an interesting one to watch. As always, students are encouraged to attend games and show some school spirit for our Men’s Poet Soccer Team, and a recognition and appreciation for our fellow classmates as their hard work continues matters more than ever during the kick off of this Fall sports season! Although the Men’s Poet Soccer Team has faced some tough losses so far, they have yet to run out of fuel and Whittier is holding strong while looking forward to the continuation of the 2023–2024 year.
Photo Courtesy of Tony Leon / ACTIONWESTPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
