IRVINE, Calif. – Vanguard men's soccer returned to winning ways Saturday evening with a spirited 3-1 win over Concordia at Golden Eagles Field. Adversity was the name of the game, as the Lions faced the most shots in a single match all season, outshot by the Golden Eagles 18-9. They fell behind after 28 minutes, when a well-taken Concordia goal made it 1-0 for CUI at the break. Vanguard came together in the second half, however, scoring three goals to take all three points, two of which came in less than three minutes.
Zander Zil's first career goal put the game level inside 70 minutes, while
Luke Parker willed his sixth career goal on the board to pocket the game-winner.
Tyler Williams's first PacWest start of the season came with the clincher, as the sophomore thrashed in the final goal from a potent counterattack, scoring his third goal of the year. Freshman
Caleb Johnson was also key in the net, posting a career-best eight saves, with six in the second half.
"Wow, what a game," expressed Head Coach
Jesus (Chuy) Miramontes. "We weathered the storm in the first half. But came out in the second half and played our best half of soccer all year. Concordia are a great team, and we showed that we can play with the best. Super proud of this group and we're coming together at the right time."
The Lions now sit joint second in the Pacific West Conference, with a 4-6-2 overall record and 3-1-1 league tally. Concordia's two-game win streak is put on pause, dropping them to 6-5-1, 2-2.
What Happened? The Lions were outshot 6-2 in the opening 45 minutes, with CUI playing a sleek brand of football under the rain-slicked pitch. VU had a hard time sizing up the tempo, and instead laid out five early fouls amid a fully functional Golden Eagle side. The hosts registered the first four shots of the match as the fourth found the back of the net to open the scoring in the 28
th minute.
CUI caught VU off balance with a sharp pattern of play, starting with their goalkeeper before stringing together nine passes to spread the ball wide to Andrew Jun on the right wing. Jun made a swift turn before enlisting the 10
th pass in the CUI sequence: a beautiful cross to Bryan Maldonado. The CUI forward wedged a run between VU's centre-back and right back, settled the ball first time and buried the effort past Johnson for a silky 1-0 finish.
Concordia continued to push for the remainder of the half. They snatched at a free header of a set-piece which was knuckled wide past the far post and required a solid stop from Johnson at his near post on the counter attack a few minutes later to close the period.
Second half action saw an intense increase in rain, to cast a muggy, humid climate for the players. The Lions proved battle-ready, however, with lethal productivity going forward and a well-fought defense half as well. They reduced CUI's 12 shots in the period to just three within the box and stayed connected in midfield to halt the Golden Eagle buildup play.
Javi Camargo had the first true effort on goal in the 55
th minute, with eyes to the far post as his swipe to the bottom right corner needed saving.
Johnson did some of his best work during the span as well, coining four saves within four minutes. The freshman was called into a wide arrangement of stops, first stopping a point blank header from a set-piece to keep VU in the mix. In the 60
th minute, CUI found an angle to shoot from the edge of the box, but Johnson threw himself at full stretch to parry the missle-seeking strike away from the bottom corner. His heroics continued a minute later, as Maldonado came onto a chipped through ball from just outside the box to nearly score his second of the night. Johnson was brave off his line, and equally precise, closing off the lane to score and smothering Maldonado's attempt at the near post.
Then, VU turned the match on its head.
After long periods of defending, VU finally found chances to attack on the other end, and the Blue and Gold were anything but wasteful.
It all started after a CUI foul in the middle of park in the 70
th minute. Xaiver Alcantar took it short, into the feet of
Alex Martinez, who helped advance the attack for
Kyle Nelson on the left wing. Nelson waited to forge the mismatch from the outside and used
Kevin Abarca's overlapping run to set up the chance. The cross from Abarca was inch perfect for Zil's back post run, with the freshman tapping it in to put the Lions on terms.
Concordia could not find the rhythm of the match after the goal, with VU hunting in packs to clutter up the CUI buildup on a lightning-fast pitch. They earned a throw in on the left side just two minutes after the restart, with Abarca once more in the mix. CUI cleared the initial throw in away, before
Jordan Le slapped a ball over the top of the CUI defense. It was a routine shift for the CUI backline, but the Golden Eagles were caught sleeping in an attempt to shield the loose ball for their oncoming goalkeeper. Parker was hungriest, rounding the CUI defender and hooking the effort into the back of the net with the outside of his right boot to will VU in front with two goals in three minutes.
The rain didn't let up in the final 18 minutes of action, and neither did VU. Concordia never hit the target after the Lions went ahead, despite a steady progression of CUI bodies in VU's domain.
The game was put to bed in the 84
th minute after a long defensive clearance up the field from Leonard Villacorta in VU's defense. CUI tried settling the ball in midfield, but VU collapsed on the second ball, and opened up a three versus two counterattack to close the game.
Sidney Dina directed traffic through the middle, with options on either side. His pass was perfectly placed for Williams down the left, who only required one touch before slicing the ball low and hard against the water-whipped turf to torch the finish in the bottom right corner.
What's Next? The Blue and Gold face Jessup on Wednesday, October 14 at 3:30 p.m.
