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Westmont Men’s Soccer (5-0-1) completed their pre-GSAC schedule on Wednesday with their fifth consecutive win, this time over the visiting Bethesda Flames (0-6-2). During the first four games of the win streak, the Warriors had out-scored opponents 14-1.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Warriors continued to increase their goal differential with a 6-0 win over the Flames.
“I don’t think we won even two in a row at any point last year,” said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. “Our team has to be given credit for what they’ve done up to this point. We won five games all of last year, and today we won our fifth.
“This is a group that has made a lot of progress, and not just physically, but also psychologically. They are tougher mentally, more resilient, and in a really good place heading into conference play.”
In the fourth minute the Warriors began the barrage when Braeden Pryor rolled a pass to Martin Anguiano. Anguiano, who was wide open in the box, followed the pass towards the goal line and without a defender around him, poked a shot past keeper Felipe Lima for his third goal of the season.
Twelve minutes later, it was Donovan Howat’s turn to get in the box score. This time, the assist came from Michael Palmer who was patiently weighing his options on the far side of the pitch. Instead of sending the ball into the crowd of Warriors on the center of the six, Palmer switched the field to Howat, who was wide open on the nearside of the 18.
With room to carry, Howat took a touch to his right before burying home the first goal of his collegiate career.
“Donny (Howat) is a guy who’s been fighting to get back on track,” said Wolf. “He’s been fighting hard and today, he had a couple classic Donovan Howat moments. It wasn’t perfect, but it was very characteristic of him.
“Sometimes, scoring a goal just helps make you feel better.”
In the 30th minute the Warriors extended their lead to 3-0 off of a fast-moving free kick. While the Flames retreated expecting the Warriors to prepare a set piece, Howat quickly played the ball on the near sideline to Miguel Alvarado.
Alvarado and the Warriors then caught the Flames on their heels. Pryor, who was darting towards the box on the far side of the pitch, received a lofting pass from Alvarado in full stride. Then, the Warriors’ most productive scorer finished his fourth goal of the campaign.
In the 43rd minute, the feel-good story of the day began to reveal itself. Senior Owen Bates, who missed all of last season due a knee injury, stepped onto Thorrington Field in a live game for the first time in 517 days. Immediately, he displayed why the Warriors missed him so much.
Freshman John Ruetschle carried the ball on the edge of the Flames’ six-yard box, drawing several defenders away from the center of the pitch. Just before dribbling out of bounds, the freshman darted a pass towards the middle.
Waiting for it was Bates, who ricocheted home his first goal since March of 2021.
“First and foremost, it was great to see Owen on the field,” said Wolf. “At some points, we would’ve considered any appearances on the field a victory. To see him get on the board feels like a big bonus. If we get him going, in addition to the arsenal we already have, you can get excited very quickly about our group.”
Nineteen minutes into the second half, Bates continued to own the day. This time, Bates was on the receiving end of a cross from Pryor, and this time, Bates used his head to drill the ball to the back of the net. The finish was the club’s fifth goal, and Bates’ second in less than 25 minutes.
“It was an emotional day,” said Bates. “It was a long road and it wasn’t always easy. I was happy to be out there and I was happy to score a couple goals. I wanted three, but getting two was awesome.
“It’s just great to be a part of this group. We’re looking good, feeling good, and trying to have a special season.”
Pryor, who quietly picked up a pair of assists during the match, put the finishing touches on the win in the 70th minute. The final Westmont goal of the day began with Erik Guerrero feeding Pryor on a 30-yard run to the top of the box.
As Westmont fans have quickly gotten used to, Pryor out-ran the pair of defenders at his side, and calmly deposited his team-leading fifth goal of the season to make it 6-0.
Twenty minutes later, the Warriors officially had their first five-match winning streak since 2019.
Next Thursday, the Warriors begin Golden State Athletic Conference play with their bi-annual trip to Arizona. On Thursday, the Warriors open up with #19 Ottawa (Ariz.) (5-2-1) at 8:00 p.m., before taking on Arizona Christian (3-1-3) under the sun at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday.
“We’re starting off with a bang,” stated Wolf. “OUAZ made the deepest run of any GSAC team last season, and was a team that handled us fairly well at our place last year. We won’t have to wait long to know where we stand in the pecking order.”
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
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