LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Vanguard women's soccer returned to the pitch on Wednesday night in an away match against Cal State Los Angeles but the Lions could not find an equalizer, losing 1-0.  The Golden Eagles slotted in the game's only goal just four seconds before the halftime buzzer sounded, but the Lions did improve in the second half and outshot their hosts 8-6.  VU drops to 0-2 on the season while Cal State LA improves to 2-0-1.
 
What Happened?  The Vanguard defense was tested the most in the first 45 minutes, as the Golden Eagles put up 13 shots and controlled a majority of possession.  Jordin Holmquist-Wilder made her first save just six minutes in to keep CSULA off the board but she would only get a short respite.  The VU keeper made a sprawling save in the 25th minute and batted away two more attempts just past the 32nd minute to the praise of her teammates. 
 
She continued to keep the net empty until the first half was nearly over.  A VU foul allowed the Golden Eagles to launch a ball into the Vanguard end and a deflected pass allowed Mia Del Muro to scamper in and poke in the go-ahead goal.
 
While the Blue and Gold were shut down offensively in the first half, the intermission revitalized the team's forward movement.  It took just six minutes for the Lions to earn their first corner kick of the game and Alyssa Fong slammed a shot towards the top-left corner of the net, only for CSULA keeper Taesja Paopao to deny her.  Sydney Powell drove a shot towards goal in the 54th minute that just rose over the bar and Jena Howard and Fong forced Paopao into saves over the next few minutes to continue the barrage.  However, despite the inspired push, VU could not nab the opening tally of the year. 
 
CSULA was able to get some offensive action going again after that, but the VU defense and Holmquist-Wilder were up to the task.  Both Kennedy Cypher and Takara Kiesel found openings for shots as the final 20 minutes ticked down, but Paopao finished off her clean sheet to give Cal State LA the 1-0 win.
 
The Lions were outshot 19-8 in the game and each team had six corner kicks.  Holmquist-Wilder made eight saves and Paopao made five.  Cypher had three shots towards the end of the game to lead the team, with Fong next with two strikes that were both on target. 
 
 
What was Said?  "We're very proud of the way the team fought back in the second half," said Head Coach Emily Reynolds.  "Our goal was to create chances to get ourselves back in the game and we did that.  We'll learn from tonight and now we set our sights on Saturday."
 
What's Next?  The Lions will make their home debut against Redlands on Saturday, September 14, at 1:30 p.m.