By BRANDON PETERSEN
The Westcliff men's soccer program has existed for all of three years.
The Warriors have only competed in two seasons, and this year was their first participating in the California Pacific Conference.
So much for growing pains.
On Tuesday at UC Merced, the Warriors will become the first team in school history to participate in the Cal Pac playoffs, and they should be considered one of the favorites to walk away with the hardware.
Westcliff (6-1-1) is the No. 3 seed in the tournament behind No. 1 Embry-Riddle (6-1-1) and No. 2 Marymount California (7-1), which won the Southwest and South conference pods, respectively. UC Merced (7-1), the North pod winner, is seeded behind Westcliff at No. 4.
Rounding out the tournament is No. 5 Simpson (6-2) and No. 6 La Sierra (6-2).
There is a good reason why the Warriors are so well respected headed into the tournament.
Embry-Riddle, the top seed, was the benefactor of a missed call in its game at Westcliff, and had that call been correct, the Eagles would have left that contest with a loss instead of a tie.
Westcliff and Embry-Riddle have had two very close contests, and the tournament seeded them in opposite brackets, setting up a potential third meeting in the championship game.
In the Cal Pac, the Warriors are No. 1 in goals scored with 72 – the next closest is Marymount with 62. Westcliff is the best in the conference in points and shots, fourth in goals against, and second in clean sheets recorded (six).
Quentin Hornung ranks first in the Cal Pac in goals (19), points (45), shots (79) and fifth in assists (seven).
Karam Idris leads the league in assists (12) and John Adekunle is sixth in the league in goals scored (10).
Nationally, the Warriors stack up well in the NAIA.
As a team, Westcliff is No. 1 in the NAIA in shots per game, No. 3 in the nation in shots and No. 5 nationally in goals scored.
Individually, Hornung ranks No. 4 nationally in goals scored, fifth in shots and points and 61st in assists.
Nationally, Idris is No. 6 in assists, and Adekunle is 85th in goals scored.
Westcliff kicks off the Cal Pac Championships against No. 6 La Sierra, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
If the Warriors advance, they will face second-seeded Marymount on Thursday for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
Win two and the Warriors will secure a trip to the NAIA championships and play for the Cal Pac championship on Saturday.
If Westcliff makes the title game, kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., which leaves plenty of time for Warrior fans to travel up Friday night or Saturday morning.
Merced is a five-to-six-hour drive, north from Irvine.
Take the 405 or 5 North to the 99 North after the Grapevine and head north to Merced, using Exit 185 upon arrival.
UC Merced is located at 5200 Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343.
To contact Brandon Petersen, e-mail brandonpetersen@westcliff.edu.
