Champions yet again, Point Loma Nazarene University soccer is excelling on both the men’s and women’s side. The women’s team won the PacWest for the fifth time in six years, and the men won it for the second time in two years. Women’s soccer also won the first ever PacWest Tournament Championship.
PLNU Men’s Soccer
Men’s soccer finished with a record of 11-2-3. The team finished two points ahead of Menlo, securing the No. 1 seed in the inaugural PacWest Championships. The winner of the tournament secures a spot in the NCAA Championships tournament.
Midfielder Milan Diklic, a sports performance graduate student said, “It feels really good. When you win one time people think you’re lucky, but winning a second year in a row proves to everybody that’s the spot we deserve.”
Simon Sagal, a midfielder and second-year psychology major, said the reason they succeeded and are still succeeding is because, “the team was able to buy into a style of play and what the coach wanted to do and we made a lot of progress.”
On Nov. 14, the team took on Fresno Pacific in the tournament semi-finals in Irvine, California.
Before the match, Sagal said, “I think our expectations are always as high as they can be; it will be a good opportunity to prove ourselves. We want to go as far as we can and we have the group to do it. ”
In their game before the tournament against Academy of Art on Nov. 9, Elijah Langford, a second-year striker, and Austin Lavelle, a fourth-year striker, became the second pair of sea lion athletes to score three goals each in the same game.
PLNU men’s soccer has received the highest ever rankings this season. They were ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DII Men for the West Region. Additionally, they were ranked No. 6 in the NCAA DII United Soccer Coaches Poll, which is their highest national ranking in program history.
Phil Wolf, head coach of the men’s soccer team, was awarded PacWest Coach of the Year. Elijah Langford, second-year forward was awarded Player of the Year. Ryan Doyle, second-year defender was awarded Defender of the Year.
Sagal was injured his first season with an ACL injury and has helped the team a lot in his second season, taking the first shot of the game against Fresno Pacific in the PacWest semi-finals. Sagal said that the reason he and the team are able to excel is because of the positive team environment, team camaraderie and friendship. To highlight the coach, Sagal said, “He has a clear sense of how he wants to play … but the coach also cares about the team outside of just the 90 minutes.”
With 23 shots, 19 more than Fresno Pacific, the men’s team was defeated 1-0. Despite the loss, the men played well, according to the stats. A goal by Fresno in the 62nd minute put the PLNU team in a tough position, but they continued to fight back. Fresno Pacific’s goalie showed up ready to play with eight saves and 23 shots faced. With a loss in the PacWest Championships, PLNU must secure an at-large bid to participate in the NCAA Championships.
Last year, the boys won the PacWest but got knocked out in the second round of playoffs by Cal State LA. Throughout the year, Diklic has had an immense contribution to the team. During his senior undergraduate year, he was named to the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Second Team and named First Team All-PacWest.
“We have the tools to win and we know how to,” Diklic said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment [for] a long time.”
PLNU Women’s Soccer
Women’s soccer took first in the PacWest this year, finishing with a record of 13-2-1. They took on Westmont in the PacWest semi-finals on Nov. 14 in Irvine, California.
“Our program has always been a successful program,” Emma Thrapp, defender and graduate student pursuing a master’s in business administration, said. “Our coaches have established a high achieving culture and that bleeds into the rest of their team.”
Thrapp, who was awarded PacWest Defender of the Year, said that for any team, it is important to have a good culture.
“This team is special in that we all just enjoy being around each other,” Thrapp said. “We play every game for each other. It’s easier to put your all out there when you are doing it alongside your best friends. It’s embedded into our culture and has had a huge impact on our successes.”
The team won their last five games, with a total of 14 goals scored, allowing them to take No. 1 in conference standings. Additionally, they had ten shutouts in 11 games. The PLNU women’s soccer team will play the top seed in the semifinals.
Head Coach Kristi Kiely won PacWest Coach of the Year. Priya Torres won PacWest Freshman of the Year.
“This is our first year with a conference tournament which is exciting,” Thrapp said about the Nov. 14 game. “We are focusing on the next game and not looking too far ahead. We are expecting to compete well and enjoy one another for the rest of our season, whether that is two games or eight games.”
The team took the win over Westmont in the PacWest semifinals. Alyssa Ketcham, Alana Diaz and Laney Herrero scored goals to make the 3-0 win. The women moved on to play Saturday, Nov. 16 in the PacWest championship game against Hawaii Hilo.
After their final two games before the semifinals against Fresno Pacific and Academy of Art, goalkeeper Julia Pinnell was named PacWest defender of the week with two shutouts that weekend, but five in a row overall.
The women went on to defeat University of Hawaii Hilo in overtime 3-2 for the PacWest Championship trophy, securing a spot in the national tournament. Goals by fourth-year forward Alana Diaz, third-year defender Zoe Crockett and fourth-year forward Bethany Arabe allowed the team to take the PacWest Championship title in 2024.
All it took for these two teams to perform tremendously well in the 2024 season was taking their mental game to a new level. As Diklic said, the men and women’s teams shifted from an “enjoying mentality to winning mentality.”
Cade Michaelson