RIVERSIDE, CA- The Soka University Lions were defeated by the Golden Eagles of La Sierra University 6-1 on Thursday night in Riverside, CA.

La Sierra's Israel Vasquez put the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard in the 20^th minute of the match. La Sierra was awarded a free kick in the Lions' defensive third, and Vasquez drove his shot into the upper right corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.

Twelve minutes later, Abel Cornejo dribbled the ball down the left flank and onto the touchline. He cut the ball back, and served his cross mid-goal. Cornejo's cross found Soka's Glen McKay at the penalty spot. McKay's first time clearance bounced to Vasquez, who hit a first time shot into the goal, bringing the Golden Eagles' lead to 2-0 at half-time.

Four minutes into the second half, Soka's Maxwel Barainca was shown a red card for a handball outside of the penalty box, giving up a free kick beyond of the arc, and forced the Lions to play down a player for the remainder of the match. Barainca's replacement, first-year Riley Grosso stepped into the goal, but, despite his attempt, was unable to save Golden Eagles' midfielder Abel Cornejo's free kick, making the score 3-0.

Cornejo struck again ten minutes later, and Soka's Leonardo Ortiz answered back in the 73^rd minute. Ortiz's goal materialized from 30 yards out, after he collected the ball, and struck his shot towards the roof of the net, swerving past La Sierra's goalkeeper, Javier Lopez.

The Golden Eagles scored two more goals before the end of the match, making the final score 6-1.

"Last night was another tough loss," said head coach Ian Eggleston.  "Credit to La Sierra, as they deserved the win. I thought we were a little unlucky with the first two goals, but having said that, La Sierra had some good looks separate of them in in the first half. At half-time, we talked about the importance of the next goal, and then Max had an instinctual reaction for the handball just outside the box, which led to his red card – which was the correct decision. Playing with ten men, and being so banged up, was just too much for us to get back into the game. We've got eight days until our next match, and hopefully we'll get at a few of our guys back before then, and we can push on for the rest of the season."

The Lions take a break from Cal Pac Conference play for the next eight days, and return to action on Saturday, Oct. 13, when they host (RV) Marymount California University. Kickoff is set for 2pm.
 
 
 
 
 
 

NOTES: This is the fifteenth meeting between the Lions and the Golden Eagles… Soka is now 6-6-3 against La Sierra… this loss brings the Lions' overall record to 6-6, and 2-3 in Cal Pac Conference play… in addition to the red card shown to Soka's Barainca, Soka's Gerardo De La Torre was shown a yellow card in the 68^th minute of the match… La Sierra outshot Soka 33-8… Soka's Barainca made seven saves, and Grosso made four.