ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Soka Lions secured their first Cal Pac win in their conference home opener against the Providence Christian College Sea Beggars on Thursday night at the Lions' Den Soccer Stadium.

Gera De La Torre put the Lions on the scoreboard early, netting his first goal of the night five minutes into the match after Harry Gilmer connected his pass to Alex Tavarez on the left flank. Tavarez served a deep cross towards De La Torre, who slid and finished his shot low and into the right corner.

Tavarez tallied the Lions' second and third goals of the night. His first goal came off of a cheeky pass from Jesus Cabrera inside the 18-yard box. His second goal started with a threaded pass from Noah Alexander to De La Torre, who deceptively slipped his pass to Tavarez for the finish. Tavarez posted a total of five points on the night.

In the 35^th minute, Alexander played a deep driven ball behind the Sea Beggars' defense, finding De La Torre in stride. De La Torre then drove his shot cross-keeper to give the Lions the 4-0 lead at halftime.

Seventeen minutes into the second half, De La Torre finished his chance from twenty-five yards out. After receiving a pass from Daiki Arai, he placed his shot high into the back post and earned his first hat trick of the 2021 season.

In the 76^th minute, Soka's Sam Dagg scored his first career goal off of a De La Torre assist. Dagg also scored his second goal of the game two minutes later, beating two Providence defenders on the dribble and giving the Lions the seven-goal advantage.

With ten minutes left to play, De La Torre converted his fourth goal on the match. Gilmer served his cross back post, and De La Torre finished his shot first-time, giving him a combined 10 points on the day.

"It was a memorable match under the lights tonight," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer.  "We are really excited for the team because they have put in a lot of work together up to this point. The discipline and focus from the kick-off to the final whistle were top-notch. We would especially like to thank all of the supporters for coming to cheer us on tonight. Now we immediately turn the page and look towards our next match against the University of Antelope Valley."
 
The Lions will travel to the University of Antelope Valley on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, for their first road trip and second Cal Pac Conference matchup of the season. Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
 
Game Notes: The Lions outshot the Sea Beggars 31-3… Soka's Riley Grosso made one save on the day... yellow cards were shown to Soka's Mikey Venezia and Sam Dagg.