COSTA MESA -- A calmer victory came today for Vanguard men's soccer at home against Chaminade University of Honolulu. The Lions scored the first and only goal of the Pacific West Conference contest, with
Luke Parker pocketing his first goal of the season. The first shutout of the year gives VU a 3-5-2 overall record and a 2-0-1 mark in league games, while CUH dropped to 0-10, 0-5.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy today. They have played everyone tough. We found a way to get the three points and a clean sheet at home, and I will take it and move on to the next one," offered Head Coach
Jesus (Chuy) Miramontes.
What Happened? The Blue and Gold had the metrics in their favor, as the squad had a 13-5 edge in shots in the game and a 16-5 lead in corner kicks. The Silverswords had only one shot in the first half and ended with five in all, with
Caleb Johnson making one save and not having a ton to do for large stretches of the match.
Zander Zill had the first VU shot of the game, but it did not take long for the Lions to find the breakthrough. The play started with a nice run along the right side of the field, and though CUH made a clearance, a well-timed sliding tackle by
Henry Garcia got the ball to
Kevin Abarca. He made a gashing run towards the top of the penalty box before scooping the ball with his left foot to Parker, who took one touch before he unloaded his shot into the left side of the goal.
Vanguard had a couple of sequences later in the first that generated shots on goal, but both
Juan Vazquez and Abarca were denied as the period moved along. The Lions were comfortable on the ball and did not allow the Silverswords much, with the visitors getting only one shot off a corner kick.
The second half resumed with VU again looking the better of the two sides, though the Silverswords had some better luck passing in possession. The Blue and Gold had most of the chances over the first 20 minutes of the interval, but nothing found the twine. A lot of credit for CUH's defensive effort came from their goalie, James Boudiette, who knocked plenty of VU corner kicks and crosses away before they became scoring opportunities.
Tyler Williams hit the crossbar in the 81st minute, and a header from
Robert Ronco was just guided over the bar to close out the good scoring chances for the home side. The Lions had eight corner kicks over the final 10 minutes, though many were taken short as the squad expertly milked time off the board. Meanwhile, the defensive effort was solid across the 90 minutes, even when CUH pushed for an equalizer during the middle of the frame. Johnson made his only stop in the 66th minute, but otherwise, there was no drama in the VU box.
Ronco had a match-high three shots, while Zill and
Juan Vazquez each had two.
What's Next? Due to the heat, VU's game against Hawaii Pacific has been moved up to 10:15 a.m., with the senior ceremony coming right after the women's and right before the game.
