ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Soka University Lions dropped their final home match of the season against the UC Merced Bobcats 3-0 Friday night at the Lion's Den Soccer Stadium.

The Bobcats got on the scoreboard early in the 15^th minute, after a UC Merced's Artemio Contreras' combined with Marcos Ceballos at the top of the box. After getting the ball back from Ceballos, Contreras finished his shot high, and into the back post for the early 1-0 lead.

In the 28^th minute, Bobcat midfielder Marcus DeCouto found himself on the end of a ball slipped behind Soka's defense from Miguel Cornado. DeCouto took a touch to his left, and slotted his shot low, back post, past Soka's outstretched Maxwel Barainca for the two goal advantage.  

Two minutes later, Contreras struck again for the Bobcats. He bent his shot high, and into the back post, for UC Merced's third and final goal of the match.

The two sides played to a scoreless second half, as the Lions regrouped at half time, and stuck to their plan defensively, denying the Bobcats of any attacking chances they created.

"It's always a strange feeling to play the last game of the season, as season always seems to fly by so quickly," said head coach Ian Eggelston. "That was a very talented UC Merced team tonight, and definitely the best team we've played all year, and they deserve to finish top of the conference table. I'm extremely proud of the work our guys have put in this year, and I think our future is bright. We're a very young squad, with no seniors, which bodes well for next year. Hopefully we can add some additional quality players to our roster, so we can really start to compete with the top six teams in the Cal Pac Conference moving forward. Our group really enjoys one another, and we are all completely committed to putting in the work during the offseason to get where we want to be." 

The Lions end their season with an overall record of 8-10, and 4-7 in California Pacific Conference play.
 
 
NOTES: This is the fifth meeting between the Lions and the Bobcats… Soka is now 1-4 against UC Merced…The Bobcats outshot the Lions 35-2… Soka's Barainca made three saves and Riley Grosso made eleven saves on the day.