Men's soccer blanks La Verne to advance to SCIAC championship

ORANGE, Calif. – A goal in each half and a stout effort on the defensive end led to a 2-0 win for the Chapman University men's soccer team and a trip to the SCIAC championship match on Saturday. The Panthers (14-4-2) earned their first trip to the title match in three years with the shutout victory.

Senior Sean Augustine faced five shots on goal and was equal to the task every time. Junior Elliott Braund scored the Panthers first goal and Jake Sarmiento headed in the second.

Chapman had the run of the game, outshooting La Verne 16-7 in the second semifinal matchup between these two teams in as many years. Braund put the Panthers on the board with a perfect free kick in the 28th minute. His strike from distance blazed past the leaping La Verne goalkeeper. It deflected straight down off the bottom of the crossbar but bounced back up into the netting for the goal.

Augustine needed to make just one save in the first half as the Panthers kept possession and outshot La Verne 10-2 in the opening 45 minutes. Toward the end of the half, the Panthers went a man-up as Auden Foxe received a red card.

Up a man in the second half, the Panthers continued to press. However, Braund received a second yellow in the 65th and the teams played the final 25 minutes 10-on-10. With more space and a frantic attack from La Verne, the run of play was nearly even with Chapman outshooting La Verne 6-5 in the half.

In the 73rd minute, senior Marco Saglimbeni drove into the corner and sent a perfect cross into the six-yard box. Fellow senior Jake Sarmiento ran unmarked into the box and headed the cross into the back of the net for a 2-0 Chapman lead.

Augustine was immediately tested as Justin Funes sprinted forward and fired off a shot behind the defense. Augustine came up with a sliding save to erase his biggest threat of the match and keep La Verne off the board.

The Panthers held off the Leopards over the final 15 minutes to keep their season alive. Chapman head to top-seeded Redlands on Saturday at 7 p.m. for the SCIAC championship match.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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