ROCKLIN, Calif. – In a game that featured 12 yellow cards and two ejections, the Vanguard men's soccer team utilized a 47th minute goal from freshman Niko Ochoa to knock off Jessup, 1-0, on Saturday at Warrior Field.
The Lions left northern California with their third straight victory and a 2-0 PacWest record. The Warriors dropped to 0-4-3 overall while losing their first PacWest contest.
VU competed the final 15 minutes and 44 seconds with 10 players on the field after Shaun Im received his second yellow card – becoming an automatic red card – on an illegal sliding tackle in the 75th minute. Im also got flagged for a yellow in the 43rd minute.
Ochoa notched his second game-winning goal in just his fifth career collegiate contest. He also tallied the deciding score in VU's 3-2 win over San Francisco State last Saturday.
Graduate student Aidan Hay had three saves to secure his second shutout of the season.
Both teams had just six shots apiece in a tightly contested defensive battle, which included 14 fouls on Jessup and 11 on VU.
What Happened?: Markus Garcia had the first solid opportunity for the Lions, but his shot sailed high in the 14th minute. Aidan Doherty got loose inside the box in the 31st minute and shot wide on another dangerous VU chance.
But Hay was the hero in the first half as he stonewalled Jessup's Iven Flores on a penalty kick attempt. Im, a freshman defender, was whistled for a foul inside the Jessup box at the 36:57 mark. Flores steered his attempt from the spot to the waiting Hay, who sprawled to his left for the block.
Hay made all three of his stops in the first half, turning away Eduardo Guillen in the 13th minute and Donovan Carrillo in the 24th.
The PK denial boosted VU's morale, and the Lions struck quickly to start the second half. Henry Garcia started the sequence in the midfield with a pass out to Lucah Flores on the right flank. Flores sprinted past his defender and hit a cross to Ochoa inside the six. With his left foot, Ochoa redirected the ball past Jessup keeper Maxx Williard to the lower left at the 46:14 mark.
The goal ramped up the Intensity and the onslaught of cards followed. Despite Im's removal at the 74:16 mark, the Lions did not allow a shot for the remainder of the game.
VU's defense denied Jessup a shot attempt over the final 32 and a half minutes.
With 32 seconds remaining, VU's Zachary Miramontes received a red card and an automatic ejection, as the Lions defended down two players in the waning seconds. Miramontes had obtained a yellow card earlier in the 67th minute.
Both Im and Miramontes will sit out VU's next game per NCAA rules.
What's Next?: VU is tied with Point Loma atop the PacWest standings. Both teams square off on Thursday, October 3 at the VU Soccer Field with kickoff at noon.
