Cougar Men and Women Defeated by CS Dominguez Hills
9/21/2007

Box Score (Women)
Box Score (Men)

It was tough going for the Cougar soccer squads on Monday, as both were downed by Cal State Dominguez Hills.  The women suffered a hard-fought 3-0 loss, while the men were roughed up to the tune of a 6-1 defeat.

For the women, the loss hurts, but the game was closer than the score indicated.  Scoreless through most of the first half, Dominguez Hills got a goal right before the first half that somewhat took the wind out of what was a very spirited effort by Coach Ron Pulvers' squad. 

"The girls were great," commented Pulvers.  "They battled hard and created numerous chances."

Despite the Cougars' best efforts, however, the clock continued to tick and the deficit remained at 1.  As the 80th minute neared, they began taking more chances out of necessity, and unfortunately got caught.  CSUDH's Kristen Boskovich launched a long shot that beat Cougar keeper Jane Drury.  Ten minutes later, with the game just about over and the Cougars trying to break the shutout,  Boskovich added another goal off a cross from Kelly Matosian.

So although the 3-0 loss looks lopsided on paper, the Cougar women continued to play hard and had a good showing against a tough team.  With six games, all winnable, left in the season and the squad playing well, the playoffs are "very much in our sights," according to Coach Pulvers.  The Cougar women currently sit at 4-6-1 on the year.

For the Cougar men, the goal now is simply to work hard and play disciplined.  Monday was another rough outing for the group, as they fell 6-1 to a superior squad.

"This is a wonderful group of guys," noted Coach Pulvers.  "But we're lacking leadership.  We were outworked and outclassed tonight."

Indeed, the leadership issue has front and center in terms of reasons for the disappointing season.  Going into the year, the biggest question was how the team would fill the role filled by 2006 senior captain Ben Crouse.  With four games left in the season, the question still lingers.

On Monday, the Cougar men were out of the game early, as CSUDH scored in the 5th minute, then again in the 14th.  The game was 3-0 going into halftime.  CSUSM's lone highlight came from Bradley Seidenglanz, who made it 3-1 in the 61st minute with a low shot that beat the keeper.  But CSUDH would go right back up, scoring the game's final three goals.

Despite the rough outing, the men still have a shot to finish the season at .500.  They're at 4-8 on the year, and have a long break before traveling to Chapman on October 12th.  The women will be at home against Cal Lutheran on October 7th.