IRVINE, CA- The Soka Lions dropped their road match against the (24) Westcliff University Warriors 1-0 on Saturday evening at the OC Great Park, bringing their overall record to 7-4-1 and 6-2 in Cal Pac Conference play.

The Lions knocked on the door in the first half, but after a second yellow card was shown to one of Soka's players, Soka was forced to play with ten of the field for the remainder of the game for the second consecutive match.  

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Westcliff was able to slip their shot into the net to give them the go-ahead goal. Despite efforts from the Lions to equalize, the Warriors were ale to maintain their 1-0 lead for the duration of the game. 

"For the second time in three days, we played a man down for most of the game," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "Before the red card, we lacked sharpness in the attacking third, and after the sending-off, it became even more difficult to create opportunities. Having said that, we are very proud of the team for how they refused to give in. To hold the first-place team in the Cal Pac to one goal while playing down a man is a tribute to our defense and the work from the team as a whole."  

Up next, the Lions return home to host the Simpson University Red Hawks on Friday, October 13, 2023. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.


 NOTES: After tonight's match, the Lions sit in third place in the Cal Pac Conference standings with 18 points… yellow cards were shown to Westcliff's Finn Pock and Soka's Hope Suka and Nicholas Bello, with Suka also receiving a Red Card… Soka took two shots on the game… Bernardo Atalla made two saves on the day.