WHITTIER, Calif. – Caltech Men's Soccer continued its 2023 SCIAC campaign in a Wednesday night shootout against the Whittier College Poets, coming away with a draw in a second consecutive four-goal match.
The home side set the tone early with a goal in the first minute, but after staying in the game and battling to earn a corner kick, Etienne Casanova fired up the Beavers with an Olimpico goal as his kick from the corner arc floated and curled into the back of the net untouched by the crowd inside the six-yard box. The Beavers' opening tally was Casanova's eighth of the season.
A few minutes later, Caltech picked up a steal from the Whittier midfield unit and launched a quick counterattack, culminating in a sneaky left-footed shot by Ishaan Mantripragada that completely froze the Poet goalkeeper, making it a 2-1 lead. Whittier replied with a goal shortly thereafter and the 2-2 score held through halftime.
The hosts scored first in the second half but the Beavers tied it up again after another counterattack in the 66th minute, Casanova feeding to Mantripragada from 20 yards out, curling another left-footer beyond the reach of the leaping Whittier netminder. Mantripragada now has five goals this year as Casanova picked up his third assist.
The Beavers continued their fierce offense, peppering the Poets with shots on goal until Jack Myles broke the tie yet again, evading two pressuring defenders inside the arc and turning 180 degrees to shoot down low with his left, tripping over his own feet as the ball slid between a couple backs and past the goalkeeper.
Whittier ultimately equalized in the 81st minute and the 4-4 score held until the final whistle. Their second draw of the season, Caltech now has a 5-1-2 record overall and 2-1-1 in the conference, equal to Redlands and behind only Occidental at 4-0-1.
"We were disappointed to settle for a point, as we had plenty of chances but to be fair to Whittier, so did they," Head Coach Duncan Gills remarked. "We continued to execute well at times, but we know moving forward in SCIAC we will have to be able to put together complete performances for 90 minutes."
Gillis and the Beavers hit the road again on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff at California Lutheran University. Find live stats and video links at https://gocaltech.com/coverage
Team social links:
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https://twitter.com/caltechmsoc
