LA VERNE, Calif. – Caltech Men's Soccer faced the University of La Verne Leopards Saturday night under the lights at Ortmayer Stadium and came away with a 4-1 statement victory.
The Beavers played with intensity from the opening kickoff, managing a pair of shots in the first three minutes, while La Verne replied with a pair of shots of their own. After much back-and-forth, first-year
Matthew Luk (Bel Air, Md. / Milton Wright) made a break toward goal in the 27
th minute and was tripped up by a La Verne defender inside the penalty area, and junior
Ishaan Mantripragada (Saratoga, Calif. / Harker School) converted the ensuing penalty kick to open the scoring with his seventh goal of the season.
The teams traded attempts at goal over the next several minutes before senior
Alex Gogola (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit College Prep) netted his first goal as a Beaver, burying a rebound from 12 yards out and doubling his team's lead in the 34
th minute.
After halftime, junior
Etienne Casanova (San Jose, Calif. / Saratoga) put the game away with two goals in the first six minutes of the second half, with assists from Luk and then senior
Andy Dimnaku (Wellesley, Mass. / Wellesley) who found him unmarked in close range.
With 23 career goals, Casanova achieves the all-time record in Caltech Men's Soccer history. The previous record was 21 goals, which was a three-way tie with Mantripragada and
Gerald Eisman '70 from the 27
th to 47
th minute of tonight's match.
The Leopards would get on the board in the 84
th minute, but the damage was done as Caltech held on for its fifth-consecutive win over the Leopards dating back to 2019.
"A great performance from the whole team," Head Coach
Duncan Gillis said. "Very proud of the boys, and happy to see their hard work pay off."
Gillis and the Beavers will continue their SCIAC campaign at home Wednesday, Oct. 2 against the Whittier College Poets. Follow the action at
GoCaltech.com/coverage.