Mustangs Extend Mastery Over Cal Lutheran, 5-1

Roaming free in the wide-open space that was Cal Lutheran’s half of the field, The Master’s College scored four first-half goals Wednesday then cruised to a 5-1 nonconference men’s soccer victory at Cal Lutheran.

The Mustangs (7-8) also capitalized on the sloppy play of Cal Lutheran goalie Ryan Kaufman in running their record against the Kingsmen to 6-0-1 since 1986.

“[Cal Lutheran] didn’t pressure us hard and if you let us work it up the field we’ll get our chances,” Master’s Coach Jim Rickard said. “Then it’s just whether we score on them or not.”

Five minutes into the match, Master’s forward Bryan Lee took a pass from midfielder Stephen Janho and beat Kaufman from 15 yards.

The Mustangs made it 2-0 at the 24:16 mark when Blake Gillen headed in a well-aimed cross from Lucas Principe.

Principe scored the third goal 10 minutes later when Kaufman tried to kick the ball out of the Cal Lutheran goalmouth but the ball hit one of his defenders in the back. The carom landed at Principe’s feet and he booted a low shot into the unguarded net.

Master’s built a 4-0 lead at 43:35 when Steven Palm ripped a 25-yard shot from the left side of the penalty area over Kaufman.

Edwin Astudillo scored for Cal Lutheran (9-6-1) in the 77th minute.

Master’s answered a minute later when Gustavo Durruty sent a free kick over a wall of defenders and just under the crossbar.

“I thought both teams were lackluster at the start but as we sat back they gained momentum,” Cal Lutheran Coach Dan Kuntz said. “[Kaufman] struggled a lot and we weren’t communicating, we didn’t play collectively.”