ATHERTON, Calif. --  The Golden State Athletic Conference men's soccer Tournament resumed Thursday on the campus of Menlo College, with the Vanguard Lions matching up against the Hope International Royals.  The Lions had easily dispatched their local nemesis in the regular season, but the first semifinal of the Tournament proved to be much closer.  The Lions got the first goal of the game but the Royals tied it in the second half, and with no goals in overtime, the match went to a penalty shootout.  The Lions ended up falling 5-4 in the shootout to bow out of the competition, with VU falling to 9-2-6 overall.  The squad will have to wait to discover if they will receive an at-large bid for the NAIA National Tournament on Monday morning.
 
What Happened?  A shot outside the box almost 10 minutes in was pushed away by a diving Edwin Monterrosa and though Hope set up a few chances, they could not bank home the opening tally.  Hope looked strong during the opening phase of the contest but Vanguard would soon settle in and even out the possession battle.
 
Stewart Alvayero took the first shot for the Lions off a free kick in the 11th minute, but he could not hit the frame.   Just shy of 20 minutes played and the Lions had their first real chance at getting on the board, as a nice pass created a scrum in front of the goal, but the flag went up for offsides.  But lady luck soon favored the Blue and Gold two minutes later, as the squad garnered a corner kick and Alvayero went to the flag to take it.  In a rare feat, he measured things up perfectly and bent the ball into the net from the corner for the first goal of the game, his 10th strike of the year.
 
Monterrosa made a punching save in the 25th minute and Hope put a few shots near the goal in search of a quick equalizer.  That included a shot off a free kick just shy of 30 minutes played that hit off the outside of the right post, but the VU defense kept the squad in the lead as the half moved along.  The barrage finally ended with about 10 minutes to go and Vanguard played the rest of the half on an even keel.  Donald Kiernan almost doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, unleashing a shot from 25-plus yards, but it just cleared the top of the crossbar. 

The first half came to a close with HIU outshooting the Lions 11-5 and 5-1 in shots on goal.  The corner kick tally was even at 3-3 and Monterrosa made five saves in the period.
 
The second frame opened with a pair of corner kicks for the Blue and Gold, but the squad could not get a clean attempt on goal.  Markus Garcia was able to sneak a shot through a defender in the 54th minute, but HIU goalie Milton Herrera easily scooped it up. 
 
Defensively, the Lions stood tall in the midfield and were able to keep play mostly in the Hope half of the field, holding the Royals to zero shots from the hour mark to the 76th minute.  Offensively, Lucah Flores fired a shot on goal in the 69th minute, but Herrera went down on a knee to make the stop.  A long shot by Christopher Sanchez was also easily grabbed by the Hope goalie, but Vanguard looked very poised as the game crept towards a conclusion.
 
However, things took a dramatic turn in the 79th minute.  A foul against Vanguard gave the Royals a free kick almost on the line of the penalty box and Luis Lira peppered his shot into the net to tie the contest at 1-1. 
 
Monterrosa came up clutch as the half came towards an end, grabbing a couple of crosses and making one save as the Royals tried to increase their lead.  A late corner kick for VU did not produce a shot and the sides went to overtime tied at 1-1.
 
The Lions had the better of the play in the first OT, with a cross from Sidney Dina and a long throw by Robert Ronco giving VU some opportunities, but no one could change the crosses to shots.  Dina later had a deep shot that looked promising, but it missed wide right.  HIU had two corner kicks in the period, with Monterrosa making one save, but no one could change the 1-1 score.
 
The second overtime was almost one-way traffic, as the Lions desperately tried to put the game away.  Tubbs slammed a shot into the post just a couple of ticks into the second portion of OT and a shot by Aidan Doherty two minutes later just rose over the bar.  A foul then gave Alvayero a free kick 24 yards out from the goal and he pegged the corner with his shot only to see Herrera leap into action and deny him the winner.  Hope's first shot of the frame cleared the crossbar in the 107th minute of action and with no shots after that, the two sides went to the sidelines in preparation for a penalty kick shootout.
 
The Lions have not been in a PK shootout since 2016 and it has been since the 2011 season since the Royals were involved in one.  Despite the lack of experience, Zachary Miramontes started things out by converting his shot for VU.  HIU made their first attempt and Cooper Clark then missed his shot to the right and the Royals took a 2-1 edge after their next shooter converted.  Alvayero made his shot and Monterrosa then brought one back for the Lions on a diving save to his right to level things at 2-2.  Nathaniel Gomez got a green check mark, as did the next Royal, but Ronco's shot was saved, as he could not beat Herrera low and to the goalie's right.  With the game on the line, Hope converted the next kick to send the Royals on to the final with a 5-4 win in the shootout.
 
Hope outshot the Lions 21-14 and 8-4 in shots on goal, though VU had an 8-5 edge in corner kicks.  Monterrosa made seven saves on the day.  Alvayero led VU with three shots and two on target, with Kiernan, Dina, and Tubbs all recording two shots in the contest.

What was said?  "We had some gret chances to make it 2-0 and end the game, but we didn't finish those chances," relayed Head Coach Jesus Miramontes.  "We were good today and we came up short.  That's the game of soccer.  I'm proud of these guys and how they battled all year."