The Master’s University men’s soccer team posted two goals in the second half of Wednesday’s match against Westmont College, but couldn’t rally past the Warriors, resulting in a 3-2 loss.

With the loss, TMU’s record moved to 10-5-2 and 5-3-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Mustangs faced an uphill battle when Westmont scored its third goal with 30 minutes left in the match.  TMU began to chip away at the Warriors’ lead when sophomore midfielder Benjamin Tembo put the Mustangs on the board in unassisted fashion at the 73:02 mark.

Thirteen minutes later (86:29), TMU cut into the Warriors’ lead again when sophomore forward Trevor Mangan scored off a combo assist from Humphrey Mahowa and Llyod Virgill.

Unfortunately, the Warriors’ defense staved off a TMU comeback, and escaped Reese Field with a 3-2 victory.

“I got outcoached today,” commented TMU head coach Jim Rickard. “I just didn’t prepare our guys good enough to deal with Westmont’s No. 29 and No. 12.  It was nice to finish strong and give ourselves a chance.  Hopefully, that gives us some momentum heading into Saturday’s match at Vanguard.  I was proud of Chris Logan’s leadership and Benji’s incredible work rate.  Benji and Chris showed themselves to be real men today.”

This Saturday, TMU competes in the final match of the regular season when it travels to Costa Mesa for a 3:00 p.m. showdown against Vanguard University (10-4, 5-4 GSAC). A victory against the Lions would help secure TMU a home playoff match next week in the first round of the GSAC Tournament.