ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Lions dropped their match against the Golden Eagles of La Sierra University 2-0 on Sunday evening at the Lions' Den Soccer Stadium.

Soka maintained much of the possession during the first half of play and created multiple scoring opportunities, which they were unable to capitalize on.

In the 26th minute of play, the Golden Eagles were awarded a penalty kick, and Anthony Garcia stepped up to the spot and converted his chance to give his side the 1-0 lead. Garcia would eventually go on to net the insurance goal in the 67th minute off of an assist from Damian Romero.

Soka's Luis Barraza led the team taking seven shots, while Jesus Cabrera took three. The Lions' Noah Alexander and Sam Dagg also took two shots on the day, while Bryan Palpallatoc and Mikey Venezia each had one look on goal.

"We started the game well, dominant in possession, and played much of the first half in La Sierra's end of the pitch," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "We were not clinical enough with the final ball or our finishing, which hurt us. The referee awarded a penalty kick for what appeared to be a clean block, and that was one of the few chances La Sierra had during the first half. Down by one goal at the break, we liked our chances to come back in the match. We continued to threaten but got caught in possession, which led to a counterattack and their second goal. From that point, we never found our way back. Wednesday, we will hit the road for two matches in Arizona, and they are absolute must-win matches for us."

Next, the Lions travel to Mesa, AZ, to face the Redhawks of Benedictine University Mesa on Thursday, October 20th. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.
 



Game Notes: The Lions are now 3-8-3, and 3-5-1 in Cal Pac Conference play… La Sierra outshot Soka 18-16… Eric Aparicio made five saves on the day… yellow cards were shown to La Sierra's Jose Alcala, Andy Aguilar, and Paul Christensen, and Soka's Chase Buchert.