Lathrop played the defending Western Athletic Conference champion tough in the first half Thursday, but with the Spartans shorthanded Beyer pulled away while employing suffocating defense on the way to a 5-0 win at Bennie Gatto Field.
“We had a couple of players that were hurt and we had to make some adjustments,” Lathrop coach Jose Montes said. “And our combination didn’t work. Our chemistry was off.
“In the first half we looked OK, but have a lot of young players and we have to make some changes to compete. We are not out of it by any means; we just have to be smarter with what we are doing in both our defending and our attacking.”
Defending conference champion Beyer (3-1 WAC, 5-4 overall) got a pair of goals in the first half when Ashlee Leonetti’s direct kick got lost over the wall and Caroline Duenas got loose on a breakaway. Isabella Rodriguez added a pair of second-half goals and Kayla Duenas chipped in one.
The Spartans got off six shots in the first half — but just two were on frame – and only one shot on goal in the second half.
“Defense is awesome,” Patriots coach Ryan Leonetti said. “Defense wins championships and my defense is stellar.
“They were trying to play long ball through my defense which my defense read pretty well, and we started playing one man back a little further. The only thing they could do is shoot outside the 18 — they didn’t make it inside the 18 for a good shot.”
Beyer got off 20 total shots with Lathrop goalie Christina Solorio making 10 saves.
The Spartans host Los Banos on Monday at 5:30 p.m.