Men’s Soccer Focused Heading into Semis

By Brandon Petersen

The California Pacific Conference Men's Soccer Championships resume Thursday at La Sierra in Riverside, where No. 3 Westcliff is set to square off with No. 2 UC Merced at 2:30 p.m. 

Much has changed since the Warriors and Bobcats met at Las Lomas Park on the very first day of Cal Pac play, way back on Sept. 16. 

The Warriors have progressed from game to game since, developing their style of play and learning each other.

Westcliff finished the season 11-5-2 overall, and 9-2-1 in Cal Pac play, earning themselves the No. 3 seed.

UC Merced, meanwhile, finished the year 11-1-5 and 8-0-4 in Cal Pac play, to wrap up a first-round bye. 

The Warriors hosted Benedictine Mesa in the opening round of the tournament last Saturday and after a competitive first half, walked away with a 3-0 clean sheet. 

"Benedictine came out strong," Westcliff head coach Tom Lancaster said. "The first half of the game was scrappy, which we expected.

"As the game went on, we managed to take control and played some very good football."

Janis Hinterleitner sparked the fuse five minutes into the second half, and Alessandro Lagona and Marius Brondbo added scores as Westcliff surged toward its showdown with Merced. 

The first meeting of the two teams came down to a quirky finish. 

The Warriors were awarded a red card late, and the Bobcats snuck in the game-winner with five minutes remaining. 

Lancaster told the team afterward that if they continued to bring the same energy level throughout the Cal Pac schedule they would be just fine. 

The Warriors quickly shrugged off the loss and continued to build toward the playoffs. 

"The aim is to get a bit better every time we play," Lancaster said. "That has been a continuous theme throughout the season and will continue in the playoffs.

"Our rotations and tactical fluidity has served us well this season due to the depth and quality of our team."

Westcliff finished with winning records both at home and on the road, and averaged 2.72 goals per game, scoring 49 total. 

Merced had almost identical numbers, scoring 46 goals (2.71 per contest). 

The semifinal round is where the Warriors bowed out a season ago. 

After the loss, Lancaster encouraged his underclassmen to remember that night, that feeling, and to not let the moment overwhelm them a year from then. 

On Thursday, the year will have passed.

"We need to play the game," Lancaster said. "Not the occasion."