In a game that was decided in large part by the head official's whistle, Cougar men's soccer fell at home on Sunday 3-2 to Westminster.

CSUSM is now 3-4-1 on the year.

The Cougars had the upper hand early on, forcing the issue and creating chances. In the 20th minute, Troy Skomra launched one of his patented throw-ins into the box, finding the foot of Dan Sims. Sims put a beautiful touch on the ball, knocking it over his head across the face of the goal. Forward Brandon Zuniga beat the keeper to the ball, heading it in to put CSUSM up 1-0.

Westminster tied it up late in the half, with Jeff Gardner ripping a shot from 20 yards out that beat Cougar keeper Tashi Nakanisi in the 42nd minute.

But with the tight game tied and about to head into halftime, the complexion of the contest was unfortunately changed by the referee. Cougar defender Trey Whitaker was given his second yellow card on a ticky-tack call, resulting in an automatic red card and ejection. One minute later, fellow defender Jordan Shadeed was sent off for a wayward elbow. Assistant coach Bobby Renneisen was also ejected at the start of the second half.

Forced to play two men down for the entire final 45 minutes, the Cougars fought valiantly, but simply couldn't overcome the overwhelming numbers advantage. Westminster scored in the 55th minute, then again in the 65th. Though the Cougars got one back in the 70th when Miguel Jacobo drew a foul in the box and knocked home the penalty kick, Westminster held on to win the game 3-2.

CSUSM will play at Westmont on Wednesday.