SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Vanguard and #11 Point Loma entered their Pacific West Conference fixture on Saturday afternoon as the only teams with perfect conference records. An upset looked possible after Robert Ronco put the Lions in front inside two minutes, but the Sea Lions' three straight goals reaffirmed their control over the contest. Adan Alvarado punched in a penalty kick to cap off the highest-scoring half (5 goals) VU has been a part of this season.  The second half, however, told a separate story as the Sea Lions outshot VU 9-3, and fired in their fourth goal to seal the win in the 51st minute.

The Lions drop their first game at PLNU Soccer Field since 2000 and move to 6-4-2, 4-1 in the conference. Loma leaves the exchange still perfect in the PacWest (4-0), improving to an 8-2-1 record overall.

With the result, both teams are even on points (12) to sit tied atop the PacWest standings. The defending champions, Loma, however, hold a game in hand and will look to leapfrog the Lions come the end of next week.

Ronco's opener was his first goal of the season and second fastest strike of his now 16-goal career. It was also his second goal involvement of the four-game road trip, bringing the senior to three points on the season.

Alvarado was on target from the penalty spot for the second time this season. His first-half strike raises him to four goals on the year, matching his tally from his freshman campaign last season.

In goal, Aidan Hay faced the most shots in his career at 21. The graduate student grappled five saves, with four coming in the second half.

Leading the Sea Lions was the 2024 PacWest Player of the Year, Elijah Langford, who bagged a brace for his fifth goal in the last two games.

What Happened? The Blue and Gold found the back of the net in the second minute, after preying on Point Loma in possession. The Sea Lions tried to play the ball through midfield, but Sidney Dina was onto the pass, nibbling at the ball for the interception. Dina carried the ball to the straight at the PLNU defense and went for the goal, with his shot clipping into the stride of Ronco to redirect it into the bottom right corner.

It was Dina's first goal involvement of the season and third assist of his career.

PLNU worked their way into VU territory for the first time in the sixth minute and broke through for the equalizer just three minutes later.

The Sea Lions found room on the right wing and headed for the goal, but a wonderful sliding challenge from Alex Martinez deterred the initial drive. The remnants, however, were swung to the left corner of the box, where Emmett Layman cut in on his right foot and curled a beauty to the top right corner for the equalizer.

Loma left little time for VU to reassess the situation, as the defending champions took the 2-1 lead in the 12th minute. Vanguard committed a foul in a dangerous area, lining up Langford's free kick from 20 yards out.  Positioned on the right side, Langford lashed it over the four-man Lion wall and into the bottom right corner.

In the 17th minute, VU had a chance to respond with a free kick of their own. Centered on the penalty arc of the box, Alvarado ripped his shot around the six-man Loma wall, with the effort to the bottom right saved by PLNU.

The free-flowing first half continued with various chances for either team. PLNU formed a few carefully crafted openings in possession. They sprouted a deadly counter in the 19th minute, creating a four-versus-two on the break. Slater Hammer and Ben Sieber, however, were able to hold the fort, with the pair shepherding the Sea Lions strikers wide, narrowing the angle to force the shot off target.

VU saw shot attempts by Bryan Ortiz and Alvardo, which were each off target, and Ronco scored his second in the 22nd minute, but quickly saw the goal tacked off for a tight offside call.

PLNU scored their third goal in the 29th minute. The danger started from a set piece, which was taken short and worked to the other flank on the right wing. Loma clipped in a ball, with the rebound sprinkling out to the far reaches of the left side of the box. Hay made his move to meet the ball, but was just late on the challenge, as PLNU were awarded the penalty kick.

Langford stepped up from the 12 paces and crushed the ball top right, sending the keeper the wrong way in the process to make it 3-1.


In a similar set of circumstances to Loma's third goal, VU found themselves with a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. The Lions were taking a free kick from the right through Juan Vazquez, when the left-footers shot was blocked by a Sea Lion hand, granting VU a penalty kick.

Alvarado approached the ball with a slight stutter, then sent it through the palms of the PLNU keeper to place it bottom left and set the score at 3-2 heading into halftime.

Hay had a quality stop five minutes into the second half, after a long ball over the top beat the Lion defense, and left Langford one-on-one. Hay was spry off his line, smothering the angle to deny the Sea Lion striker the hat-trick.

It was the second wave of attack, however, that secured the fourth Point Loma goal just 20 seconds later. PLNU recycled the attack after Hay's heroic clearance. Then the Sea Lions squared the ball near the edge of the box, where it was chipped past the VU defenders and finished on the half volley to flash past the near post.

Up 4-2, PLNU used possession to pull out parity in the remaining 40 minutes. The Lions went 20 minutes before their first shot of the half through Connor McCoy and only claimed one shot on frame with Niko Ochoa's 81st strike on the break, which was closed off the Sea Lion keeper.

What's Next? The Lions face another crucial PacWest matchup as they host Azusa Pacific on October 22 at 2:30 p.m.