CLU Gives Westmont a Scare, 3-2

It was a typical freshman mistake.

Apparently Alberto Gutierrez didn’t realize that when the Cal Lutheran soccer team fell two goals behind the top-ranked team in the nation late in the second half it was time to go into the tank.

No, with typical freshman vigor, he leaped high for a Larry Gidley pass near the goal and headed it in to pull Cal Lutheran (7-5-1) within a goal of visiting Westmont College (12-1-3) with five minutes remaining in Tuesday’s game.

Gutierrez’s goal made the final score 3-2, but CLU managed to throw a scare into Westmont, tied for first in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics soccer poll with Rockhurst College of Missouri.

“It’s probably safe to say they play us as tough as anybody has played us all year,” Westmont Coach Bob Fortosis said. “It’s obvious we played pretty flat, but I don’t know if it was because of their effort or because we came in cocky.”

Westmont jumped to a 1-0 lead and controlled the ball throughout the first half, but Cal Lutheran managed to scratch out a 1-1 first-half tie. Dave Rinehart kicked the ball into the right corner where Gidley tracked it down and crossed it to Casey Pirih, who drilled a line drive past diving goalie David Buehring for Cal Lutheran’s goal.

Early in the second half, Westmont’s Justin Wall scored his second goal of the game when he hit the right post, rebounded his own shot and buried it in the net.

Mike Avery scored minutes later to give Westmont a 3-1 lead.

But Cal Lutheran refused to quit.

“You expect that of them,” Coach George Kuntz said. “Playing the No. 1 team in the nation, the players responded well.”

With only two more District 3 matches left, CLU needed a victory to improve its playoff hopes. Now, the Kingsmen (3-3-1 in district play) will have to beat Cal Baptist and Fresno Pacific to assure themselves of one of the five playoff berths.