ALISO VIEJO, CA- Soka University of America men's soccer team was shutout by the University of Antelope Valley Pioneers 4-0 on Friday evening at the Lion's Den Soccer Stadium.

The two sides remained scoreless until the 42^nd minute of the match when the Pioneers Kevin Martinez capitalized on a miss-clear from the Lions. Martinez slotted his shot low and into the back post to provide his side with the 1-0 lead just before the end of the first half.

The Lions chased the score for the remainder of the match, with Soka's first year Jesus Cabrera banging his chance on frame off the left post, and senior Hunter Stewart forcing the Pioneers' goal keeper to make two crucial saves to keep his side their 1-0 lead.

With the Lions pushing forward, and looking to create high pressure on the Pioneers in pursuit of the equalizer, Antelope Valley's Adrian Quintero and Kevin Martinez netted three goals in the last ten minutes of the game. Quintero tallied back-to-back goals in the 79^th and 84^th minutes, while Martinez converted his second goal of the night in the 88^th minute to bring the final score to 4-0.

"We were beaten by a good UAV team tonight, but the score line flatters them somewhat," said Head Coach Ian Eggleston. "We were chasing the game at 1-0 until the 79^th minute, when Antelope Valley scored three clinical finishes within the last ten minutes of the game. We're really proud of the guys though, as we've asked a lot of them this week in regards to getting back to knocking the ball around and having much more possession. I thought we were brave on the ball tonight, and we played out the back very well. The midfield movement was very good for most of the game, and it's a shame to end up conceding four goals. We were unlucky not to take the lead early on, but we gifted them their first goal after an error on our part. Antelope Valley's depth is hard to compete with, especially with our small squad, but we're making strides with our style of play, and really hoping we can recover well tomorrow and perform the same way on Sunday as we honor our five seniors in their last home match of the season."

Up next, Soka will host Sierra Nevada College on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. Kickoff is set to start at 1 pm.
 
 
 




NOTES: This is the seventh meeting between the Lions and Pioneers… Soka is now 1-6 against Antelope Valley… Soka was outshot 20-9, with Antelope Valley putting only eight shots on frame, forcing Soka's Maxwel Barainca to make four saves on the day… a yellow card was shown to Soka's Leonardo Ortiz.