PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech men's soccer team earned a monumental 1-0 victory on Saturday as the Beavers defeated Pomona-Pitzer in a late afternoon in-conference matchup. With the victory, the group improves to 4-1-1 on the season and hands Pomona-Pitzer its first SCIAC loss of the fall.

Cooler temperatures created a pristine environment for soccer as the two squads kicked off just after 11 a.m. It was Pomona-Pitzer who fired off the first shot of the match in the 12th minute, though first-year defender Riley Coover stepped it to block the shot, keeping the score at 0-0.

The Beavers would log six shots between the 12:49 and 18:35 mark in the first half after creating several strong opportunities, though were unable to connect.

Sophomore forward Jack Myles nearly scored the game's first goal in the 36th minute as he rocketed a header shot towards the goal with the Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper out of position, though the ball ricocheted off a Pomona-Pizer defender and back onto the pitch. The Beavers were not able to connect as the opponents picked up the ball the other way.

The Beavers would try their best to create a few more opportunities with the first half clock winding down. With under three minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Etienne Casanova put his foot skill on display; the San Joe native moved the ball from the backfield up the pitch, swerving one opponent and picking up speed before juking another. The midfielder then tapped it through the defense up ahead to Myles, who immediately kicked it towards the goal and past the opposing goalkeeper, who had rushed out of the six-yard box. All watched as the shot bounced into the back of the net, electrifying the home crowd at North Field and putting the Beavers up 1-0.

The second half would quickly begin with a shot from the Sagehens at 45:32, though senior goalkeeper Derek Ing would come up with an important stop to keep the Beavers ahead.

Both teams would go on to create a number of near-goal opportunities, though no player was able to connect as the clock continued to run down. Ing would save Pomona-Pitzer's final shot attempt at 82:39 before the final horn sounded, giving the Beavers their first SCIAC win of the year and their first victory against the Sagehens since 2019.

Caltech got off 12 shots in the contest; four came on goal. The team logged three corner kicks.

Ing played all 90 minutes in goal came up with six saves in net and improves to 1-0 in 2023; Myles' goal is his third of the season.

Head coach Duncan Gillis was proud of how his team fought for the victory and competed throughout the contest.

"Very happy with the response and the performance from the boys today," said Gillis. "They all upped the intensity in practice these last two days, and it paid off today," he said.

"In the first half in particular I thought we were very sharp. The second half we needed to dig in and defend more as Pomona pushed for an equalizer, and the guys worked hard and got it done," said Gillis.

Next up for the team is another conference matchup at home as the squad hosts the University of La Verne this Saturday, Sep. 23. Action will begin at 11 a.m. Live stats and video can be found at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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