PASADENA, Calif – The Caltech men's soccer team took down Bethesda University, scoring five consecutive goals to rally to an impressive win after going down early in the match.
Just over one minute into the match and on their first possession of the game, Bethesda opened the scoring with a penalty kick after drawing a foul inside Caltech's 18-yard box. However, undeterred by the early score, the Beavers maintained their composure and intensity to ensure it would be the Flames' only goal in the game.
The Beavers' first opportunity to respond to the Bethesda's hot start came six minutes later. Forward Ishaan Mantripragada (Saratoga, Calif. / Harker School) took a penalty kick and drilled it into the back of the net for his fourth of the season, his equalizer tying the score 1-1.
The Beavers' attack was persistent throughout the first half, totaling 17 shots to the Flames' five. With 11 minutes to go in the half, Caltech had multiple golden opportunities in front of the net, including a shot by first-year forward Matthew Luk (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright) that missed wide to the left, followed by a pair of shots on net by Mantripragada and forward Andy Dimnaku (Wellesley, Mass. / Wellesley), which the opposing keeper saved.
Bethesda cleared its defensive zone and made one more push before halftime. With 8:29 left before the horn, The Flames fired a shot at keeper Ethan Hamel (Portola Valley, Calif. / Woodside), who made an incredible diving save to keep the contest even.
The score remained tied 1-1 heading into the break but the barrage of scoring chances from Caltech built up their momentum for the second half.
After the break, Etienne Casanova (San Jose, Calif. / Saratoga) fired a low missile past the Flames' keeper to regain the lead. This goal opened the second-half scoring clinic as five different Beavers got on the board.
Midfielder Ethan Feng (San Jose, Calif. Lynbrook) scored his first goal of the season on a nifty assist from midfielder Tanish Rao (Sunnyvale, Calif. / Bellarmine Prep). Just under three minutes later, Casanova found Luk who netted another goal to add to the Beavers' big lead. The fifth and final unanswered score came off the foot of Rao, who tallied two points to help the Beavers secure the win.
"I thought we responded pretty well after our sloppy start that saw us trailing early in the match," said Assistant Coach Rockne DeCoster. "Though we missed some chances we should've scored, we were still able to get five goals and not concede again "Having five different goal scorers was also great to see, as we know we'll need contributions from lots of guys heading into conference play".
The Beavers look to keep it going on Wednesday, Sep. 18 on the North Field as they open up SCIAC play against nearby rival Occidental College. Follow Caltech Men's Soccer on Instagram and Caltech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
