PASADENA, Calif. – The Caltech men's soccer team started the 2026 season off with a bang in its first match against the Bethesda University Lion Angels, winning in shutout fashion with an explosive 9-0 final score.
Caltech took an early lead in a thrilling Tuesday afternoon match with a first-half hat trick from
Matthew Luk (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright) over a span of 24 minutes. Bethesda's only mark on the scoresheet in the first half was a yellow card in the 40th minute, and the first half ended with the Beavers holding a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Caltech's
Piotr Zawislan (Hickory Hills, Ill. / Amos Alonzo Stagg) started off the second half with a goal in the 55th minute, followed by yet another goal from
Kyler Williams (Blacksburg, Va. / Blacksburg High School) just seven minutes later.Â
Zawislan came back with another goal in the 65th minute, bringing the score up to 6-0. He scored again in the 71st, completing a second hat trick for the Beavers.
Dean Yao (Philadelphia, Pa. / Germantown Friends) and
Abdullahi Adeboye (Sugar Land, Texas / Harmony School of Innovation) rounded out the second half with goals in the 77th and 79th minute, respectively. The stellar Beaver defense held the Lion Angels to only four total shots over the course of the match, with one save made by
Ethan Hamel (Portola Valley, Calif. / Woodside) in the first half.
Luk and Yao each contributed two assists to the Beavers' scoring onslaught, with teammates Zawislan, Abdullahi, Williams,
Ziad Siala (Sunnyvale, Calif. / Wilcox), and
Matthias Casanova (Saratoga, Calif. / Saratoga) providing one assist each.
Head Coach
Duncan Gillis and the team will kick off their next match against George Fox University at home on Friday, Sept. 4, at 4:00 p.m.
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