ARCADIA, CA- The Soka University Lions defeated the Providence Christian College Sea Beggars 6-0 on Saturday afternoon, notching their first Cal Pac Conference win of the season and producing multiple firsts for the team. 

Soka's Kohtaro Goto opened the floodgates early, tallying his first collegiate goal and the Lions' first goal of the game in the twelfth minute of play off of an assist from Jesus Cabrera. 

Soka's Adalid Oregon also netted his first collegiate goal, scoring in the 40^th minute of the match and giving the Lions' the 2-0 lead at halftime.

Luis Barraza generated his first career hat trick, scoring in the 53^rd, 74^th, and 87^th minutes of play. Barraza's first and third goals were unassisted, while Alex Tavarez craftily assisted his second goal. Barraza is the tenth Lion in men's soccer program history to record a hat trick at Soka University. He joins the ranks with former teammate Gerardo De La Torre and past Lions Yauri De Groot, Leonardo Ortiz, Harrison Mirolla, Johannes Hielscher, Alexander Whyte, Bryce Arenson, Jaroslav Zapletal, and Akira Takahata.

In between Barraza's finishing frenzy, Soka's Josh Lee scored his first career goal for the Lions after confidently stepping up to the penalty spot for his side. Lee has been a staple in central midfield throughout his career, exhibiting composure and finesse in his play, which was mirrored in his finish from the PK mark in the 76^th minute. Lee now boasts five assists and one goal for a combined seven career points.

"This is a good result for us as three points were always our goal," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "It took a while to gain control of the game, but we got the job done in the end. We are very happy for Josh to get his first collegiate goal. His attitude and character are praiseworthy, and his consistent and composed leadership is very commendable. The games come quickly, and we now turn and focus on our double header next weekend."

Next up, the Lions return home to host the Cal Maritime Keelhaulers on Friday, September 30, 2022. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
 


Game Notes: The Lions outshot the Sea Beggars 23-3… Soka's Eric Aparicio made one save on the day…yellow cards were shown to Soka's Nicholas Bello and Providence Christian's Vincenzo Costagliola, Graeme Vander Meulen, Jose Campos, and Aaron Watkins.