ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Lions defeated the University of Saint Katherine Firebirds 4-2 on Friday evening at the Lions' Den Soccer Stadium.

Soka got on the scoreboard early after Gera De La Torre played a direct free kick behind the Firebirds' defensive line to Max Lau in the tenth minute. Lau slotted his shot into the back of the net, giving his side the early 1-0 lead.

In the 50th minute, the Lions' Noah Alexander connected with Josh Lee. Lee turned and threaded his pass to Alex Tavarez in space, who turned inside and slotted his shot beyond the reach of Saint Katherine's goalkeeper Ethan Ibarra, giving Soka the two-goal advantage.

The Firebirds responded in the 72^nd minute when Austin Francisco converted his chance to put his team on the scoreboard. Ten minutes later, Evan Aguirre headed in the equalizer for Saint Katherine, leveling the score at two apiece.

However, Soka immediately answered as De La Torre finished a brilliant flying side volley high and into the upper corner, netting the Lions' game-winning goal. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation play, Soka put the game out of reach when De La Torre weighted his pass perfectly to Tavarez. Tavarez took a touch around the keeper and placed his shot, bringing the final score to 4-2.

"We are really excited for the team to get their first win of the season," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "Though we lost our way a bit after Saint Katherine's player was sent off, it was great to see our team recompose themselves to finish the match strong. I look forward to continuing our journey next week against Providence Christian."


Up next, the Lions will host their first Cal Pac Conference match of the season on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, against the Sea Beggars of Providence Christian College. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
 
 
Game Notes: Saint Katherine outshot Soka 14-13. The Lions put nine shots on frame while the Firebirds put seven of their shots on target. Soka's Riley Grosso made five saves on the day. Yellow cards were shown to Soka's Alex Tavarez and Saint Katherine's Abanda Ajeakwa. A red card was issued to the Firebirds' Christian Vega in the 67th minute for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.