First-Half Goal Pushes Poets Over Stags in Home Finale

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier Poets connected in the 44th minute on a breakaway goal for the only score in a Saturday night match on Pritzlaff field against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team. Despite outshooting the Poets 15-10 in the match, the Stags were unable to find the back of the net on senior day.

Isaiah Alba (CMC) led the Stags with four shots in the match while Harper Rubin (CMC) and Justin Gadalla (HMC) each attempted three.

The Poets found their goal in the 44th minute after a contested ball in the midfield. After a collision at the midfield stripe, the ball scooted forward to Whittier's Alejandro Trujillo on the right side. Trujillo broke away from his defender and slotted a shot past the keeper to give the Poets a 1-0 lead just before halftime.

The goal for the Poets came slightly against the run of play. The Stags controlled possession for a majority of the first-half after they weathered an early flutter of activity from the Poets in the game's first 10 minutes. During the opening stretch, Whittier earned a pair of corner kicks and fired off a pair of shots, but the game remained scoreless.

In the first-half, CMS took seven shots and put three on frame compared to six shots and one on goal for the Poets, but it was Whittier with the 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.

After the break, CMS continued to put pressure on Whittier as they looked for the equalizer. In the final 45 minutes, CMS doubled the shot output for the Poets with eight attempts against just four for Whittier. Despite those eight shots, the Stags did not put any attempts on frame in the second-half and the Poets held on for the 1-0 victory.

The loss drops the Stags to 3-11-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the SCIAC. CMS has now completed their home slate for the 2017 season. Their season will wrap up next Saturday when they travel to La Verne. Game time slated for 11:00 a.m.