ALISO VIEJO, CA- The Soka University Lions defeated the University of Antelope Valley Pioneers 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Lions' Den Soccer Stadium.

The Pioneers were the first to get on the scoreboard, converting their chance eight minutes into play. The Lions answered back less than ten minutes later when Bryan Palpallatoc perfectly weighted his pass to Rudy Garcia. Garcia took the opportunity and finished his chance to level the score at one apiece.

With another ten minutes passing by, the Lions stayed on the attack, and the Soka earned a free kick outside of the box. Palpallatoc whipped in his service, bending the ball towards the back post towards a diving Noah Alexander. Alexander's diving header ricocheted off the far post and bounced to Nicholas Bello, who buried his shot with a well-placed first-time finish to give Soka the 2-1 lead.

With only a few minutes remaining in the first half, the Pioneers were awarded a penalty kick, which they converted to even the score.

It wasn't until the 62^nd minute that the Lions broke the tie when Hope Suka scored his first career goal for the Lions off of a Garcia assist to lift Soka to their fifth win of the season and fourth Cal Pac Conference victory of the year.

"It was a great win for the team," said Head Coach Shawn Beyer. "So many guys were able to make a contribution in the game. Although we gifted UAV early goals, we were able to come from behind to win. That is a good sign. We started very poorly but had some good stretches where we played well. We need to be more consistent in our possession and not give the ball away so easily. If we take better care of the ball, it will really help us. We found a way to get the result, and now we look to build on what we have."

Next, the Lions remain at home to host the Providence Christian College Sea Beggars on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.


 
NOTES: The Lions are now 5-3-1 overall and 4-1 in Cal Pac Conference play… Soka outshot Antelope Valley 15-9… both sides found frame six times… Soka's Eric Aparicio made four saves on the day… yellow cards were shown to UAV's Jose Orellana and Soka's Sam Dagg.