TOUGH BEAT

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff men's soccer team showed two different sides Saturday night at the Great Park — a flat first half that proved costly, and a relentless second half that nearly salvaged a result.

Eastern Oregon scored twice in the opening 17 minutes and held on for a 2-1 victory, despite the Warriors (2-2-1) creating chance after chance late.

Adi Vaknin pulled one back in the 81st minute off a setup from Sohaib Owais, and Westcliff hit the crossbar twice while seeing several other dangerous balls slide just out of reach in the closing stretch.

The Dubs finished with a 17-12 edge in shots, including 11 in the second half.

Westcliff head coach Randy Dodge said the difference in halves was stark.

"We had to change some things tactically because some players weren't at their form," he said. "And I thought we were brilliant in the second half. They had no answers in the second half. But overall, they were obviously deserving of the win — they scored their two goals. Once again, it's just finishing around the goal. We hit the crossbar a couple times, had balls skate by three or four times."

Dodge said the Warriors' struggles finishing chances have been the early theme of the season.

"The issue right now within our season is the fact that balls aren't scooting by for other people. They're scooting by for us," he said. "Those balls are going in the net for other people — for us, they're hitting the woodwork. I thought the second half we did great. We were very lucky not to get a couple more goals."

Even with the disappointment, Dodge said the group is still growing.

"Listen, we're still building. It hurts. This game will hurt a little bit in the rankings and all that other stuff. That's the bummer part about it," he said. "But we'll figure it out after that."

The Warriors return to action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. road match at Whittier College.