As the sun started to set over Chapman University’s campus on Saturday, the men’s soccer team was playing out an often physical, back-and-forth match against Stanton University.

The final score of six to three, in favor of the hosts, was deceiving as to how tightly contested the affair was. Chapman was ultimately able to put all doubts to rest but they endured a battle in the first outing of their non-conference schedule.

The Panthers brought tenacity from the opening whistle. Within 30 seconds of kickoff pressure from the attackers forced a turnover from Stanton’s defense, which became a theme in the first half. There was a lack of space for the visitors in the midfield and they looked uncomfortable in possession. Chapman, on the other hand, was first to every ball and generated good chances towards the goal.

It wasn’t long until Chapman capitalized on its early dominance. Senior attacker Garrett Lindfelt made a crunching slide tackle to win the ball back just 30 yards from the goal, which put Chapman immediately on the front foot. Sophomore winger Leo Wells picked up the ball on the left side of the box before taking a shot that was saved by Stanton’s keeper, Finn Schulte.

Lindfelt was there to finish off what he had started with an easy tap-in to an open goal on the rebound, making it 1-0 to Chapman just nine minutes into the match. Lindfelt, a business real estate major, said that pressuring their opponents was a large part of the team’s tactics for the game.

“Going into the game our coach wanted our forwards to match up against their three center backs to dictate play for the rest of the team, to make it easier for our center-mids to win the second play ball being played,” Lindfelt said. “If we kept the pressure, starting up front, we knew that we would win balls in key areas on the field to help put us in scoring positions.”

Chapman continued to enforce their will after the goal, with Wells and Lindfelt being the architects of the most dangerous moments. After multiple attempts being foiled by Schulte, Wells was able to double the lead 19 minutes in. Pressure was once again the name of the game as this time the Elks lost the ball in their own box with Wells breathing down the defender’s neck. He took the loose ball and put his shot into the corner.

The game, however, took a sudden turn just five minutes later. The run of play was in favor of the Panthers, but in the 24th minute Stanton found a lifeline. Miguel Nacimento made a back-post run and connected with the ball sweetly to score, after a turnover in the midfield from Chapman.

Chapman’s dominance dissipated and Stanton found itself on the frontfoot. The physicality of the game started to grow as the score line tightened

It took a goal out of nowhere for the school from Orange to regain the momentum. A cross was cleared out by Stanton’s defense and it bounced towards freshman defender Dylan Chung. In his first official game for the school, Chung unleashed a rocket as he caught the ball perfectly. It rifled into the top corner of the net. The crowd at Wilson Field got off their feet and the entire bench rushed to celebrate their teammate’s exquisite goal. Chapman’s two goal lead was restored.

It was the Panther’s match to lose when the second half began. That was until they gave away a penalty almost immediately, which Francesco De Marco scored. Another mistake cost them the two goal safety net.

The temperature started to drop but the heat on the pitch only got hotter. Both teams were going harder into challenges, trash-talking at any free moment and committing more fouls.

Lindfelt didn’t seem to mind the physicality though.

“I felt we handled the intensity well in this game and when the other team is getting physical,” he said. “I view it as a compliment because we are putting ourselves in positions that are dangerous to (them). I personally love physical games. It drives my competitive nature.”

Stanton, though, found control and ultimately tied the game up at 3-3. Victor Malaquias completed their comeback with 26 minutes left, sending what started out as a dominant Chapman performance into a frenzy.

“When a team has momentum like (what Stanton had) it's hard to get back into the game, but we know our team and what we are capable of,” Lindfelt said. “The next goal was going to come for us, we just had to find our moment to regain control of the game.”

That moment came through their most dynamic attacker in the game, Leo Wells. Stanton had stunted his influence and he wasn’t able to wreak the kind of havoc he did in the first half. All he needed was one chance, though.

When Tyler Yzuel played a pass back into the middle from the wing, the game opened up for Wells. He took his first opportunity of the half to send the home crowd into bedlam, giving the away bench a glare before celebrating with his teammates.

“I drove forward with the ball, the defender stepped up, and I had to make a split-second decision,” said Wells. “It was sort of an instinct moment. I saw an opportunity to shoot the ball and it ended up working out perfectly.”

In a game full of mistakes, rough fouls and momentum swings it was the pure quality of Wells that gave his team the lead. His teammate, Lindfelt, recognized the importance of the goal from Chapman’s man of the match.

“Leo Wells was playing amazing,” Lindfelt said. “His goal that he scored to retake the lead was not only stunning, it was just what the team needed to get us back on track.”

With the crowd at their loudest, and the energy on Chapman’s side, it was able to add two more goals. Evan Crownfield and Evan White scored just one minute apart as Stanton’s defense got more open and sloppy.

What once felt like a rivalry match had lost all intensity with Chapman closing out the game in style.

“I believe we had a pretty dominant performance for a majority of the game,” Wells said. “When they picked up momentum for brief periods of time, we were able to turn it back over in our favor by sticking together, working hard, and a few tactical changes. The belief and confidence our team has this year is very promising to see.”

Wells delivered a heroic performance. The win, though, took hard work from each player who saw the field.

“At the end of the day, we do not want to give up easy goals and (want to) finish the game with a clean sheet,” Lindfelt said, “but it’s part of the process and we learn from that and move on. I have been in this system for four years and this might be one of the strongest teams I have been a part of since I got here. We were given the fifth overall ranking this year for preseason, so our team has a chip on our shoulder and this season we are just here to show everyone that they made a big mistake putting us there.”

The Panthers don’t start Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play until Sept. 18 when they travel to Redlands, but until then they have four more non-conference matchups to refine the product on the pitch.

The team will next travel to New Jersey for games on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8 against Stevens Institute of Technology and Montclair State University.