SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Vanguard's bid in the Pacific West Conference title race took a stark turn after a 2-1 defeat against Dominican, Friday afternoon at Kennelly Field. The Blue and Gold outshot DUC 17-10, led 7-6 in shots on goal and earned 12 corner kicks to the Penguins' seven. Their loss, however, was characterized by a poor 20-minute spell to start the match, as the Penguins punished two VU errors at the back to go up 2-0. The Lions came up with a response in the 44
th minute, after a bright span from
Alan Leon produced his first career assist for
Anthony Medina's first goal of the season. The second half offered end-to-end chances for either team to score an all-decisive goal, but VU never capitalized, falling to the Penguins for the first time in their four meetings.
The Blue and Gold are down to 5-7-2 overall on the season and 4-2-1 in the league. DUC are up to 4-4-4 on the campaign, and 3-1-1 in the conference.
The PacWest plot thickens with league-leading's VU's defeat. VU sits on 13 points, but all four pursuers in the top five of the standings are furnished with at least one game in hand. The Lions could now see their title chances turn into a narrow exit of the PacWest postseason, and will need to score key points in their final two matches to keep their aspirations alive.
What Happened? DUC came out with a healthy spell of possession and good link-up play to get the match underway. VU nearly faltered with an early own goal in the ninth minute, when DUC broke through the Lion midfield far too easily to set up a cross from the right wing. The Penguin offense flung a deadly ball across the face of goal, connecting with a striker and then dashing off a Lion defender before
Caleb Johnson snaggled the grab.
The Lions didn't heed to the early warning signs, and it was a defensive miscue to put the Penguins in front just three minutes later. DUC dumped a simple long ball over the top, which lobbed past the VU midfield. Neither VU center back could clear the second bounce away, as the ball spun dangerously on goal for a one-on-one chance. Johnson jumped off his line to avert the danger but missed the ball, and DUC's Brody Anand finished with ease into an open net.
VU searched for a quick response, as
Tyler Williams took a try from distance to force the first DUC save of the contest.
Robert Ronco's pelt from the edge of the box a couple minutes later earned a corner as the striker cut inside to his right foot and scraped the shot bottom left before it was parried away by the keeper.
The Lions were sent back on their heels, with another defensive error to make it 2-0 in the 19
th minute. DUC played out of VU's trap to move the ball from the left side across to their right back. Positioned in his own half, Penguin Nathan Freitas took a slightly heavy touch but got the ball out of his feet and slammed a long ball over the top through VU's high line. The Lions couldn't get a bite at the long-range pass and allowed the ball to drop toward Jake Kazlauskas, who made a great run in between the two center backs. DUC's top scorer made no mistake, settling the ball and squaring off a tidy finish through Johnson to put the Lions 2-0 down.
The Lions pushed hard for a response outside the water break, with Leon and Medina proving among the most influential of the newcomers. The Lions harbored the half's final four shots, scoring on their last try to finish the period.
Leon manufactured the chance over a sequence of plays, putting relentless pressure from right back to squeeze the Penguins into a corner. He later helped earn a set piece, which VU recycled well to score in the half's conclusion.
The goal came from a combination from
Kevin Abarca and
Henry Garcia to switch the point of the attack out wide, toward an advancing Leon up the right wing. The substitute shook past a pair of Penguins before placing a cross near post, which was nodded away by DUC only as far as Medina. Medina took little time to bring the ball down at the edge of the box and swept a half volley into the bottom right corner to split the Penguin lead in two. It was Medina's fifth career goal, and second coming against DUC at Kennelly Field.
A 2-1 second half deficit gave VU confidence they could come back and pull out the win. But the final 45 came without goals for either side. VU controlled most of the traffic, outshooting DUC 10-5 and creating key chances. The Penguins, however, were far from helpless, piecing together three opportunities that should have put the game away.
Luke Parker and
Sidney Dina carved quality looks to start the half, both proving menacing from the left side of the pitch. Dina delivered a snapping diving header at the front post 53 seconds after kickoff to demand the first save of the half from Colin Nestor. The DUC keeper was at the mercy of Parker; however, five minutes later, with the VU midfielder receiving a throw-in at the edge of the box and spinning through three Penguins before firing the low-driven shot past Nestor, on the wrong side of the net.
Zander Zill was next up to bat, as the Lions used an iron-willed run down the left from Dina to set up the attack. The cross was fed into Parker, who trickled the ball along the edge of the box. Zill let fly through a wall of Penguin defenders, stinging the palms of the keeper to push it away.
Despite a need to stay compact to protect their lead, Dominican still found chances to hurt VU on the counterattack. Their 55
th breakaway was a textbook counter, leaving VU outnumbered in transition for a free-shot at the back post. Johnson managed to keep hold of the effort to the bottom left corner.
The Penguins put VU under more pressure after a Lion goal kick was won by the hosts in midfield. DUC hit a defense-splitting through ball to open up a one-on-one down the left side of the box, but Leon came sliding in to put the shot off.
DUC's best chance to finish the match was in the 65
th minute, when they used a quick couplet of passes to poke through the right wing. The cross to Kazlauskas was sublimely struck across the face of goal, but the Penguin blundered his potential brace, miskicking the tap-in wide past Johnson's net.
The Lions owned five of the game's last six shots, hitting the target on four occasions. The back of the Penguin net never bulged, however, as Colin locked out a season-best six saves to spoil VU's NorCal expedition.
What's Next? The Blue and Gold will take on the defending champions, Point Loma, October 21 in San Diego. The 3:15 pm fixture will require a season-defining performance amid a tight conference table.
