Season Review: Poets taste success throughout year

Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. - Head coach Paul Walmsley was hired prior to the start of the 2007 season with a four year goal of turning the Whittier College men's soccer team into a legitimate contender in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In 2009 his dream became a reality as the Poets finished second in the conference, placed five on the all-conference team and hosted a SCIAC Postseason Tournament game.

Whittier finished with their best record in recent memory at 9-5-4 which includes an 8-2-4 mark in conference play. The Poets scored 33 goals on the season which is a 20 goal improvement from 2008 and had an 11-game unbeaten streak that stretched from September 26 to November 1.

WC's unbeaten streak was the longest of the season in the conference.

The purple and gold held their opponents scoreless in five games and did not allow a goal in their final three regular season games. Two reasons behind the success of the defense were second-team All-SCIAC members Brendan McWalters and Michael Read.

McWalters was a catalyst for a defensive unit that ranked third in the SCIAC with 15 goals allowed (in conference only) and third in the conference with a 1.01 goals against average. The backbone of the defense was Read who posted an 8-2-2 record in goal with 50 saves and only 13 goals allowed.

Whittier claimed shutouts of Claremont-M-S on September 30, Caltech on October 3 and 28, Occidental on October 31 and Pomona-Pitzer on November 1.

The offense was equally as sensational as the defense as it placed three on the all-conference team. Adolfo Santos and captain DJ Covarrubias earned first-team all-conference honors while Srdan Jovanovic found his way on the second team.

 Santos and Jovanovic tied for the team lead in points at 18 but it was Jovanovic who tallied all his points on a team-high nine goals. Santos scored six goals and added six assists.

Covarrubias scored five goals, had four assists and finished the year 3-for-4 on penalty kicks.

On the season the Poets had 10 different goal scorers and 12 players record at least one point.

Whittier opened the season 1-2 before it played host to the University of Redlands on September 16.  The Bulldogs had owned the series with the Poets over the course of the decade and had won 21 straight against the purple and gold dating back to 1997.

WC scored the equalizer in the 89th minute of the game and added the game winner just minutes into the first overtime to shock Redlands. The win put Whittier on the map as the Poets went on to end long droughts against SCIAC foes Cal Lutheran and Claremont-M-S in addition to earning a season sweep of the Beavers.

The Poets' home playoff game brought a season-record 500+ fans to the Donald E. Graham Soccer Field where Whittier saw its season end, for the first time on the year, in overtime to Redlands. For the year, WC went 2-1-3 in extra minutes.

Game of the Year
Whittier 2, Redlands 1 (OT)
September 16, 2009, Whittier, Calif.

The Poets tasted a lot of success in 2009 which makes it difficult to pinpoint a single game as the win of the year. Whittier earned a wild 5-4 win over Cal Lutheran on September 26 which was the start of WC's conference long 11-game unbeaten streak, the Poets earned the season sweep of the Kingsmen with a 2-1 win on October 21, WC cruised by Claremont-M-S on October 24 to the tune of 3-1 but it was Whittier's 2-1, overtime, win over Redlands on September 19 that let the SCIAC know the Poets were a true contender for the 2009 conference crown.

WC entered the game having only scored two goals on the Bulldogs in the previous 21 meetings. Redlands ruled the series for more than a decade with 19 shutouts dating back to 1997.

Redlands looked to take the wind out of Whittier's sail with the first goal of the game in the 33rd minute but the Poets never stopped battling. WC trailed 1-0 at halftime but continued to push forward to try and tie the score before the end of regulation.

Late in the second half the Poets earned a corner kick. Patricio Carregha played the ball to the middle of the box where Joshua Dredge put a header on goal that was blocked by a Redlands defender. The ball fell to the turf where Santos knocked home his first goal of the season at the 88:19 mark to tie the game at 1-1.

Less than one minute later the Poets nearly ended the contest in regulation as Carregha hit the cross bar from more than 20 yards out. Whittier had seized momentum of the game and carried it over to the overtime where Jovanovic needed only 2:30 to put away the game winner.

The win was the first over Redlands since November 4, 1997, when Whittier won 5-2.

Outlook to 2010
Whittier will be a team to beat in the SCIAC as its roster comes back virtually intact. The offense returns over 97 percent of its fire power and should pick up where it left of in 2009 as the Poets look to earn the SCIAC crown and earn a berth into the NCAA Division III Championships.