Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

Upset of the year!!!!!

Lewis & Clark 2 - Whitworth 0

The winless streak is over!  First win since the program started (or restarted) in 2022. L&C scores in the 48th and the converted a PK in the 68th to walk away with the win!

This is shocking tidbit from the L&C Athletics and Men's Soccer Instgram about today's historic victory.

"Juniors Sam London and Eli Kraft each scored to lead @lcottsmsoc to their first win since returning to varsity status. Senior Micaiah Garan made 5 saves to help the River Otters post their first win, first conference win and first road win since the late 1980s."

[Kuiper]

Other results in Region X that caught my eye

St. Thomas 0 - Howard Payne 0

HP has been much improved this season, but beating Penn State Berks and Brandywine doesn't exactly mean you're good. It may have given them confidence, though, as they stymie St. Thomas at home in their first game back from the PA trip, a team that beat Hardin-Simmons 5-1 last week.

Redlands 2 - Caltech 0

As I predicted in my game preview for EJay, Redlands took this one.  Redlands benefitted from a bad Caltech back pass to the GK that went into the goal in the 7th minute, but added one of their own from a great shot by Zach Darmanyan later in the 1st half and that was all they needed.

Occidental 1 - Pomona-Pitzer 0

Pretty even game, but Andrew Lee broke the deadlock early in the 2nd half and Oxy held on for the win. 

La Verne 2 - Chapman 1

Chapman found itself down 2-0 late in the second half and scored 1 goal in the 81st minute, but couldn't find another to repeat the magic it had against Caltech.  La Verne continues to show that it is a hard out in the SCIAC this season.

CMS 2 - Cal Lutheran 1

CMS finally gets a win after going winless the previous three games.  I don't think they should be a ranked team at this point of the season after tying Wheaton (IL) and losing to Whittier on Wednesday, but they at least come back from a 1-0 deficit early in the 2nd half on a Daniel Zhu brace to beat Cal Lu away.

Pacific Lutheran 1 - Pacific 0

Not a very convincing win for a PLU team trying to regain its NWC dominance.  It took an 85th minute goal for the Lutes to break a 0-0 tie and walk away with a win at home.

Puget Sound 3 - George Fox 3

Puget Sound remains undefeated and continues to show that it can score, but George Fox is not a particularly good team and held a 3-1 lead midway through the first half before letting Puget Sound back into the game with two second half goals.

Whitman 2 - Linfield 0

Whitman held serve in its game against lowly Linfield (which, for the first time, is looking up at Lewis & Clark in the standings!). It scored in the 3rd and 10th minutes and that was all it needed.

[Ron Boerger]

Upset of the year!!!!!

Lewis & Clark 2 - Whitworth 0

The winless streak is over!  First win since the program started (or restarted) in 2022. L&C scores in the 48th and the converted a PK in the 68th to walk away with the win!

That makes them 1-68-4 since returning to varsity status in 2022 (the program was halted in 1991).  Congratulations to the River Otters and to all the young men who stuck with it through thick and thin.  Keeper Micaiah Garan is the only player in that time to record a clean sheet and yesterday marked his third.

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity(TX) 4, Hardin-Simmons 0

The Tigers eat well against a struggling (1-5-0) HSU squad, with Eduardo Parra scoring a brace on his only two shots and Landon Ortega picking up a goal and two assists.  Perhaps most notably, Trinity played three goalies who had yet to see playing time this season, with starter Jack Madsen (6'2" soph from Highland Park TX) earning his first career win (and first time between the posts in two seasons) after playing the entire first half.  Given Trinity's 29-1 shot advantage this turned out to be a very low-risk move. 

[Kuiper]

A few notes from some of the games today in Region X

1.  Hardin-Simmons has fallen so far that Trinity, which hasn't played like it can assume it will dominate anyone this season thus far, used the H-S game as a "give everyone minutes" game.  Examples:  (a) They started a back-up keeper and ultimately played three keepers.  (b) No one played more than 57 minutes and most regular starters played much less or didn't start at all.  (c) They played 32 players in all, with only 1 getting fewer than 15 minutes (and that was Julian Lopez, who was on the 2025 NCAA All-Tournament team).  Trinity still ended up winning 4-0 and outshot Hardin-Simmons 29-1

2.  As I predicted after Rhodes destroyed East Texas Baptist 6-1 on Friday, Sewanee took its turn thrashing them today, beating them 5-1.  This was a road trip to forget. 

3.  When Mary Hardin-Baylor beat Whitworth 5-0, we thought UMHB was setting itself up to be dominant in Region X this year.  After Whitworth lost to Lewis & Clark yesterday and tied Linfield 1-1 today, UMHB's victory looks a lot less shiny and its subsequent losses to Whitman and Trinity suggest that some of the strongest teams from Region X last year aren't giving that title up without a fight.  Still, the Cru's 1-0 victory over Texas Lutheran today is a reminder that they are a solid team and are still the odds-on favorite to win the ASC automatic bid with Hardin-Simmons and East Texas Baptist in free fall.

4.  Notwithstanding Whitman and Trinity's recent successes, Southwestern and Colorado College are probably the teams to beat right now in Region X, along with Redlands.  Southwestern is now 6-1 after beating Concordia and Colorado College scored an impressive 2-2 tie @ Wisconsin-Eau Claire, although they might feel like it was a loss considering CC was up 2-1 until Eau Claire evened it up in the 85th minute.