RIVARLY RENEWED

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff men's soccer team outlasted Simpson in a gritty 2–1 victory Friday afternoon at OC Great Park, extending its rivalry success behind relentless pressure and timely finishing.

But a tip of the cap is due to Simpson's keeper Jacopo Trolese, because despite dominating possession, the Warriors were thwarted by his eye-popping saves (8 total) time and again.

Westcliff struck first in the fifth minute when Jakob Hustoft buried a feed from Mohamed Sidi Haiba.

After Simpson equalized midway through the second half on a goal from Jorge Saldana Sonora, Adi Vaknin answered less than three minutes later with what proved to be the game-winner.

Vaknin's score was his fifth of the season, and he currently leads the club in that category.

"After our travel week, these guys responded the way they did — I can't be any prouder," head coach Randy Dodge said. "We switched up our starting eleven, had a lot of guys play a lot of minutes, and everybody that stepped onto the field gave us a chance to win.

"Simpson was hard, man — they've got a really good goalie, and he played his ass off. But I'm super proud of my guys, proud of our senior leadership, and proud of where we're at right now."

With the win, Westcliff improves to 5-4-2 overall and 2-1-1 in conference play.

Needless to say, the Warriors next contest will be incredibly important.

Stanton stunned Westcliff at OCC to kick off Cal Pac play.

The Warriors will look to respond next Sunday at Great Park Soccer Stadium, where the Elks await for a 7 p.m. kickoff.