Cal Lutheran senior defender Gavin Arce earned the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Defensive Athlete of the Week award after helping the Kingsmen go unbeaten over the weekend.
Arce, a Thousand Oaks High School product who wears No. 2, played all 90 minutes in both matches. The bigger test came Sunday, Sept. 13, when Cal Lutheran held No. 4 Emory to just six total shots and three on goal, earning a draw against one of the top programs in Division III, according to the SCIAC.
The SCIAC cited Arce's role on the backline as central to the result.
On Saturday, Sept. 12, Arce logged a full 90 in the Kingsmen's 3-1 victory over Colorado College, a game in which Cal Lutheran limited the Tigers to 12 shots, Cal Lutheran Athletics reported. The 1-0-1 weekend pushed Cal Lutheran's record to 2-1-2 through five matches.
That early-season mark already matches the Kingsmen's win total from the entire 2025 campaign. Cal Lutheran went winless for nearly a full calendar year before breaking through with a 4-2 victory over Linfield on Monday, Sept. 7. The previous win had come Sept. 20, 2025, against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the road.
Arce's contributions have extended beyond the backline. Against Linfield, he assisted on Liam Stoner's first goal as a Kingsman, helping spark the turnaround.
The defense has been the story of Cal Lutheran's 2026 season so far. The Kingsmen have held four of their first five opponents to one goal or fewer, according to Cal Lutheran Athletics. That kind of consistency from the back has turned a program that struggled through 2025 into one capable of going toe-to-toe with a nationally ranked opponent.
Cal Lutheran opens SCIAC conference play Wednesday, Sept. 16, when the Kingsmen host Pomona-Pitzer.
