Two late goals lift men's soccer to Senior Day win

ORANGE, Calif. – A pair of late goals gave the Chapman University men's soccer team a 2-0 Senior Day victory over La Verne on Wednesday. With the win, the Panthers (9-7, 7-6 SCIAC) stayed in fourth place in the SCIAC standings with one match left in the regular season.

The Panthers and Leopards played to a scoreless draw in the first half but the Panthers held the majority of possession, outshooting the Leopards 10-4 in the opening 45 minutes. La Verne was able to apply more pressure in the second half but neither team cracked the scoreboard until the 72nd minute.

After freshman Chandler Siemonsma made one of his four second half saves, the Panthers put together a scoring opportunity on the other end. A cross into the box was deflected around and out. However, junior Jarod Matteoni chested down the attempted clearance and shot it back across the box into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Just 84 seconds later the Panthers struck again. Another cross in was deflected around the box to the feet of freshman Aidan Wall. Wall fired a shot to the lower left, finding the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

Chapman was able to hold off La Verne's late push with Siemonsma making multiple sliding saves on ball played over the top.

The Panthers fired off 20 shots in the match while La Verne took 13. Siemonsma mad six saves in the contest while two La Verne goalkeepers combined for six saves as well. The Panthers recorded their fourth shutout of the year.

With the win, the Panthers set up a showdown with Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday for the fourth and final spot in the SCIAC Tournament. Chapman will clinch the fourth seed with a win or a tie. Match time is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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