Men's soccer clinches SCIAC Tourney spot despite loss

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's soccer team fell 2-1 in a battle against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen but still clinched a spot in next week's SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The Panthers celebrated their five seniors before the final home match of the season.

Despite the loss to the Kingsmen, the Panthers will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the upcoming SCIAC Tournament. Chapman clinched the spot with Occidental playing to a draw against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer losing to Redlands. CMS will be the No. 1 seed and Redlands will be the No. 2 seed. Chapman and Cal Lutheran will battle it out for third and fourth when Chapman takes on CMS and Cal Lutheran takes on Whittier on Saturday.

The Kingsmen wasted no time and were on the board five minutes into the game when Matt Myers found Giovanni Torres from the right side. Torres secured the 1-0 lead with a center shot, the lone goal of the first half.

The score remained 1-0 until the Kingsmen struck again 20 minutes into the second. Jackson Endsley secured a short-lived 2-0 lead with an unassisted goal from the left side. The Panthers answered seconds later when Nikita Dreizen found Garrett Lindfelt who rocketed the ball from dead center to set the final score at 2-1. Dreizen was awarded the assist. 

The Panthers led in possession time but secured four shots on goal compared to the Kingsmen six. In his final home match, Chandler Siemonsma tallied four saves bringing his current season total to 55.

The Panthers wrap up the regular season on the road Sat., Oct. 30 and take on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags at 7 p.m.