SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Desperately needing a win to keep any chance of making the GSAC playoffs alive, the Warriors took on Westmont College Saturday afternoon for the final road match of the 2016 season. A fast start produced an early lead for Jessup, but two goals in a five-minute span for Westmont pushed Jessup's losing-streak to four, as they fell by the score of 2-1.

Jessup looked poised to show of how conditioned they were Saturday, as they came out running Saturday, dominating he early time of possession while creating runs into the box for potential scoring chances.

Ten minutes into the match, a counterattack the length of the field found sophomore Omar Magana (Sacramento, CA) on the left side of the box. Magana slotted a pass across the goal to the far post where senior Jacob Rodriguez was able to hit a shot into the center of the net on his first touch. The goal was Rodriguez's eighth of the year, tying him for the most on the team.

Junior goalkeeper Robert Harmelink had a strong day for Jessup, keeping his side in the lead for the entirety of the first half and mot of the final 45-minutes. His toughest test came in the 38th minute, as a shot from well outside the box looked to be heading for the far post, but a dive by Harmelink denied the shot, keeping Jessup in the lead.

Westmont was able to net their first tally of the day in the 64th minute on a penalty kick. A run in the box produced a difficult situation for the Warriors' back line. Jessup tried to steal the ball away to thwart any shot attempt, but in doing so they fouled the attacker, drawing the penalty. Augie Andrade successfully scored the penalty for Westmont.

Five minutes later, Westmont again found the back of the net. Mason Garell sent a pass on the ground into the middle of the box to Jeremiah Anderson. Anderson collected the ball and fired a shot low into the right side of the net, past the diving reach of Harmelink to put Westmont on top for good.

With Saturday being the final road match of the season, the Warriors will now get to focus on playing the remaining two matches on their schedule from their home turf of Jessup Field. Jessup will host Hope International on Thursday, and then close out the season for Senior Day on Saturday against Biola University.

As for Jessup's playoff hopes, the Warriors must now await the results of both Vanguard and Biola's matches. Jessup holds a record in GSAC play of 2-5-1, totaling for 7 points. Both Vanguard and Biola sit at 12 points in the standings, meaning Jessup will need win the rest of their matches and have both of those schools lose the remainder of their matches to earn a postseason play.
 
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook), @WJUSports (Twitter), and @JessupAthletics (Instagram, and Snapchat).