ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Soka University Lions were unable to find the back of the net in their 3-0 loss to the Royals of Hope International University on Thursday evening at the Lion's Den Soccer Stadium.

The Lions conceded an early goal in the third minute of the match after the Royals' Coby Jacobs' long throw-in bounced into the 18-yard box to John Mejia. Mejia collected the ball off the bounce, and hit a full-volley high, and into the back corner of the goal, giving the Royals the 1-0 lead.

Soka's Harrison Mirolla created back-to-back chances for the Lions in the 31^st minute, forcing Hope University's goalkeeper Victor Lazada to come up with the diving saves, fending off the Lion's attacking efforts.

The Royals' super-sub Christopher Ribet made an impact on the match in the 37^th minute after receiving a threaded pass between two Soka defenders from Mejia. Ribet took a touch to his right, and slotted his shot low for the 2-0 lead at half time.

Soka's Yauri De Groot produced a strong scoring opportunity in the 51^st minute after combining with Gerardo De La Torre, but De Groot's shot nicked the post and bounced wide of the goal.

Lions' goalkeeper Maxwel Barainca delivered multiple saves for his team throughout the match, and his ability to close down the angle and make the sliding save to block the Royals' shot at the edge of the 18-yard box in the 67^th minute helped build momentum, and provide his team with confidence as they pressed forward searching for a goal.

Soka striker Leonardo Ortiz created an excellent chance with twelve minutes left on the clock. Ortiz put himself on the end of a deep service from Zach Engfelt, but Ortiz's fist-time side volley skimmed over the crossbar.

With less than 8 minutes remaining on the clock, Hope International tallied their third and final goal of the game. The goal started with a cross from the right flank by Ribet. Ribet's cross connected with  Kyle Pizano, who kept his shot low, and to the right, bringing the final score to 3-0 despite Soka's offensive efforts.

"I thought Hope was excellent tonight and definitely deserved the win," said head coach Ian Eggleston. "We knew they would have very dynamic movement up front, and had a game plan for it, but were just overwhelmed by them in the first half. I thought we settled down a lot more in the second half, and asked a few more questions of Hope, but we couldn't get the goal we needed to really get back into the game. I'm proud of how the guys responded to our chat at half time, and we are all very thankful to the fans in attendance tonight who were terrific, and created an amazing atmosphere to play in. We'll watch the game film tomorrow, learn from it, and move on to and focus for our game on Saturday."  

The Lions will regroup, refocus, and look ahead to Saturday's match when they face the University of Saint Katherine Firebirds. Kickoff is set for 4pm.
 
 


Notes: This is the fifth meeting between the Lions and the Royals… Soka is now 0-4-1 against Hope International University… The two sides each took 19 shots on the day, and the Lions put nine shots on frame while the Royals put eight shots on goal… Soka's Barainca made five saves on the day.