COSTA MESA – The Vanguard men's soccer team feasted on Thursday afternoon at VU Soccer Field, blanking Life Pacific by a 6-0 score led by two goals from midfielder Lucah Flores (SO/Frisco, TX).

The Lions recorded their largest margin of victory in a shutout since defeating San Diego Christian, 6-0, on Oct. 11, 2018.

In addition to the brace from Flores, Zachary Miramontes (SO/Fullerton, CA), Robert Ronco (FR/San Diego, CA), Jeremy Huber (FR/Laguna Hills, CA) and Kade Mikkelsen (JR/Fullerton, CA) tallied goals as the Lions improved to 7-3-3 overall and 5-2-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

The Lions share third place with OUAZ at 16 points with one regular season game left to play.

Bryan Shihad (SO/Riverside, CA), Logen Coffin (FR/Chino Hils, CA), Donald Kiernan (FR/Las Vegas, NV) and Nolan Tubbs (FR/Long Beach, CA) made their first career appearances for the Blue and Gold as 30 players saw the pitch in the blowout victory.

Edwin Monterrosa (FR/Los Angeles, CA) played the first 71 minutes in net before giving way to Shihad. The duo combined on VU's fourth shutout of the season, with Monterrosa making a pair of saves.

Benjamin Montes De Oca led Life Pacific with four shots. Ezequiel Jimenez registered three saves for the Warriors.

What Happened?: The Lions led 1-0 at halftime although they had other solid chances to carve out an even bigger lead. Flores gave VU the 1-0 advantage just over two minutes into the game. Flores drew a foul, and he buried his free kick to the lower left for his second goal of the season.

Aidan Doherty (SO/Huntington Beach, CA) flew his header just over the crossbar in the 31st minute as VU flirted with a 2-0 lead. Joey Barry (SR/Laguna Hills, CA) had another great opportunity less than two minutes later as he found himself on the doorstep of LPU's goal, but his shot went wide left.

VU went into halftime with advantages in shots (9-4) and corner kicks (4-1).

Similar to the first half, the Lions came out and immediately put a goal on the board to start the second period.

Garcia sent a cross into the 18 where Miramontes rose above the defense and steered his header to the lower left of the goal at the 46:00 mark. It was the first goal of the season for Miramontes and Garcia's first assist.

The Lions extended the lead to 3-0 in the 56th minute. Gomez intercepted a sloppy pass and slipped the ball between two Warrior defenders to Ronco, who took one touch and found the same location as the previous two goals – to the lower left.

It was Ronco's team-leading fifth goal, while Gomez recorded his first assist in 2022.

Firmly in control, the Lions piled on as they capitalized on another LPU miscue. Flores stole a pass and tore off toward the middle of the pitch. He measured the distance and hit a left-footed strike to the left corner for a 4-0 VU lead. Flores earned his first career brace.

A thrilling moment for Huber took place in the 79th minute as the Lions encountered a set piece opportunity following a Warrior foul. Barry served up a perfect pass into the box to Huber, who stuck out his right foot while moving left, volleying his shot past Jimenez for the fifth VU goal. Huber posted his first career goal in his second appearance of the season.

With time winding down, the Lions kept the pressure on and connected for their final goal with just four seconds remaining. Landon Zakhar (FR/Las Flores, CA) sent in a cross to Mikkelsen, who popped the ball straight up into the air and toward goal. Jimenez lost track of the ball's flight and it bounced across the goal line for Mikkelsen's second career score.

VU finished with a 19-11 edge in shots and 7-1 in corner kicks. The foul total was 14 for VU and nine for LPU.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions are positioned to at least host a GSAC Tournament first round game as either a third or fourth seed. VU can earn a first round bye – as the second seed – with a win on Saturday coupled with an Arizona Christian loss or tie to OUAZ.

What Was Said?: "We started very well and didn't capitalize on other opportunities in the first half," said Head Coach Jesus Miramontes. "We got some great goals from different players. That's the great part about this team. We can strike from any position. It makes it hard to defend us at times. I'm very happy about the result."

What's Next?: The Lions play under the lights this Saturday in the regular season finale against Hope International. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at the OC Great Park on Field 13.

"The team is pretty hype. They are our rivals, they're in first place and we're looking to knock them down," said Monterrosa. "We know it's going to be a pretty intense game and we hope to see everyone out there."