COSTA MESA -- Vanguard men's soccer played the first home game of the new school year Saturday afternoon in a clash against the Lions of Soka University.  Last year, the two sides battled to a 2-2 draw and while VU outshot their foes on Saturday, a big save by the Soka keeper in the final minute of the game held the teams to a 1-1 draw.  Soka goes to 0-1-1 and the Lions will start the year 0-0-1
 
What Happened?
The Blue and Gold were aggressive early on, working smartly up the field, resulting in Austin Tubbs getting the first shot of the game in the sixth minute.  However, his attempt was blocked, and both Christopher Sanchez and Lucah Flores had shots miss the net over the next two minutes.  The attacking spirit then paid off, as a foul by a Soka player in the box gave Vanguard a penalty kick.  Flores took the ball and decided to go low to his right on the attempt, but Soka goalie Eric Aparicio picked that same direction, denying Flores the opening tally.
 
VU had a trio of corner kicks over the next nine minutes, but no one could connect with the crosses.  Soka got their first shot in the 19th minute but Edwin Monterrosa made an easy save.  The Blue and Gold continued to keep the ball in the Soka half for much of the first 45, eventually outshooting Soka 13-2 and holding a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.  While the stats leaned toward VU, only one other shot found the target and Aparicio was up to the task, keeping the score 0-0 at the halftime whistle.  
 
VU got the first two corner kicks of the second period but the first did not find a head and Robert Ronco just sizzled the second cross over the bar.  But at the 56th-minute mark, things suddenly took a change.  Edwin Gonzalez fouled a Soka player and eventually got a yellow card for his slide tackle, but before the referee could draw the card, the Soka player he had brought down appeared to step on Gonzalez.  That was an instant red by the referee, putting Soka a man down for the final 34 minutes. 
 
Despite that, Soka made a lunge with two shots over the next four minutes, with Monterrosa forced into one save.  Yet that was all that Soka could muster, as Vanguard began to find the extra open space.  Ronco again had a decent header but Aparicio rose up to snag it in the 63rd minute.  But just a minute later, VU had a corner kick and Stewart Alvayero put the ball down by the flag.  He drove a lovely ball into the box and Zachary Miramontes jumped up and headed it in to put VU up 1-0 in the 64th minute.
 
The Blue and Gold searched for goal number two but could not get another grade-A chance. Soka then discovered a way up the field in the 74th minute, resulting in Monterrosa having to make another routine save.  Back came SU a few minutes later with two corner kicks in quick succession and the second one proved costly.  The cross came in and pinballed off a Vanguard arm, with the referee quickly pointing to the spot in the 80th minute.  Nick Bello out-foxed Monterrosa to tie the match at 1-1, as the short-handed Soka team celebrated at their bench.
 
Vanguard had two amazing chances to break the deadlock, with the first coming from Alvayero in the 88th minute.  A foul gave the senior a free kick from 25 yards out and he smoked it past the wall but it then thumped off the right post, keeping Soka alive.  90 seconds later, SU cleared the ball up the field but then got out of sorts defensively, as Aidan Doherty broke through on the right wing.  He gave it to Alvayero, who laid the ball perfectly back through the box to the trailing Markus Garcia.  Yet Aparicio tracked the ball the whole way and lunged to his right to make a heroic save on Garcia, who could only stare to the heavens with 40 seconds left on the board.  That would do it for the action, as the whistle sounded to leave things tied at 1-1.
 
Vanguard outshot Soka 24-6 and had a 9-4 edge in corner kicks.  Monterrosa made three saves on the day.  Alvayero paced the lineup with five shots, with Ronco, Miramontes, and Kade Mikkelsen next with three shots each. 
 
What was Said? "I thought we very good defensively again," said Head Coach Jesus Miramontes.  "We gave up 1 shot on goal and completely dominated the game.  We will get the offense clicking and this team will be ready to go.  This type of game builds character.  It's all a part of the process and I'm proud of these guys."
 
What's Next? The defense will be tested by two good NAIA soccer programs at the end of next week, with (RV) Cumberlands (Ky.) up first on Thursday, August 24, in Lima Ohio.