Every Game an Adventure in Division III

Chapman men’s soccer Coach Eddie Carrillo went from having too many goalkeeper to having only one. And last week, the lack of depth and some untimely fouls contributed to a 2-0 loss to Southern California College.

Carrillo said he had five goalkeepers lined up to play for Chapman (2-2) this season, but one went to play professionally, another had problems with academic requirements, another . . .

“That’s just how it goes in Division III,” Carrillo said.

So, when starting goalkeeper Paul Gerdis received a red card and was ejected in the second half of the SCC game, Sept. 4, Chapman’s leading scorer, Mike Sterner, had to fill in.

Because the red card carries an automatic one-game suspension, Sterner started Tuesday and had a shutout for 89 minutes before Biola (3-1) rallied to post an overtime victory, 2-1.

“We put ourselves in that position,” Carrillo said. “Against SCC, it was a case where the ref saw our retaliation. We have to keep our composure. If we don’t, that’s when we get into trouble.”

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More Carrillo: The Chapman women’s soccer team is off to a fast start, winning its first four games without giving up a goal.

“We’re beating the teams we’re supposed to,” Carrillo said.

Chapman’s first big test will be today’s game at Cal Baptist. Chapman returns home Sunday to play Southwestern (Ariz.) at 1 p.m.

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Soccer tournament: Concordia and Pacific Christian will host the Southern California Classic men’s soccer tournament this weekend on Concordia’s baseball and soccer fields.

The tournament began Thursday with the semifinals today and the final scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

Southern California College, Concordia and Pacific Christian are entered in the eight-team tournament. Judson College (Ill.), ranked 17th in the NAIA, is the only ranked team in the field.

“Hopefully, we can come out of there with two victories,” SCC Coach Dave McLeish said. “And maybe we’ll get a chance to play Judson. That will be a real good test to see where we’re at.”