ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Lions (0-1-0) dropped their first match of the 2023 season against Life Pacific University 3-1 on Thursday evening at the Lions' Den Soccer Stadium.

The Warriors (1-0-0) were the first to get on the scoreboard, netting their first goal in the 17th minute, then converting their second goal in the 36th minute of play.

Soka's Noah Alexander answered back in the 43rd minute and tallied the Lions' first goal of the 2023 season. The goal stemmed from a free kick by Bryan Palpallatoc. Palpallatoc bent his service into the box and connected with JP Dufour. Dufour flicked the ball towards the Warriors' back post, where Alexander framed the goal and slipped his shot into the left side of the goal to put his side on the scoreboard.

Despite outshooting Life Pacific 17-12, the Lions were unable to convert their chances, and the Warriors were able to add a security goal in the 89th minute to bring the final score to 3-1.

"We are very pleased with the first match of the season," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "Though we have only had a handful of training sessions, we were able to have some good passages of play and create opportunities but lacked the finishing. The first-years were solid, and our roster depth will help us move forward. As is college soccer, we quickly turn to our next match on Saturday against Vanguard."

Soka travels to Costa Mesa, CA, to face Vanguard University on Saturday August 20, 2023. Kickoff is set for 4 pm.


 
NOTES: The Lions outshot the Warriors 17-12 while putting six shots on frame compared to the Warriors' five… Soka's Eric Aparicio made two saves on the day… yellow cards were shoes to Life Pacific's Marco Mendoza, Juan Rodriguez, Leif Yano, and Angel Mata and to Soka's Kohtaro Goto, Bryan Palpallatoc, Alireza Sotoudeh, and Nick Bello.