COSTA MESA – Men's soccer made its first official appearance on the new home turf field Thursday afternoon. Despite an early breakthrough to take the lead against #20 Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Toros scored four unanswered goals to mark a 4-1 VU loss on opening day. It was CSUDH's 10
th straight win over the Blue and Gold and marks the fifth straight winless season opener for the Lions.
Vanguard led in total shots (15-11) and corner kicks (5-4). CSUDH had more strikes on target (8-4) and committed 11 fouls to VU's 13.
What Happened? Vanguard dominated the visitors for the first 15 minutes, with two quick shots early on and layered pressure through the midfield.
Xavier Alcantar opened the shooting barrage with a shot to the bottom-left corner, with
Nico Pacelli slicing an off-balanced effort over the crossbar in the 10
th minute.
The Lions found the opener just four minutes later when CSU Dominguez Hills left too much room in the midfield for
Luke Parker to turn and offload through the right flank. The ball found Alcantar, who unleashed a rocket off the right post.
Robert Ronco was fastest to the scraps, holding his run through the heart of the box and tapping it into an open net for the first Vanguard goal of the season.
It was the graduate student's 19
th goal of his career, putting him level for the 12
th most goals in school history.
VU maintained a large share of the momentum for the next 10 minutes, with two more shots from Ronco keeping the Toros on their heels. The Lions slowly lost their grip however as their own foul disparity worked against them. They were penalized for three yellow cards in the first half and struggled to keep CSUDH away from set pieces, which ultimately would be their demise.
CSU Dominguez Hills snatched the equalizer in the 26
th minute after a corner kick bounced through the defense and spilled to the back post, where Andrew Arreola earned a simple tap-in. After three quick Lion fouls and their second booking of half, the Toros began to find their footing, playing sharp out of the restarts and laying out two shots, one of which was tipped over the bar from
Mario Floriano for his second save of the half.
VU muscled a solid counter attack through
Kyle Nelson in the 40
th minute, but the eventual shot attempt from
Anthony Medina was closed out before the Toros' keeper could get tested.
A five-second goal kick countdown protocol error from VU in the 42
nd minute handed CSUDH its second corner kick of the half and subsequently its second goal of the afternoon, as VU was punished by a free Justin Cuevas who tucked in the shot for a 2-1 halftime scoreline.
VU outshot CSUDH 7-5 in the second half and led in corner kicks 5-2 but never found the answer to strike the back of the net. The half began with a relatively even rhythm between the sides, but CSUDH's Amaury Sanders leathered a screamer from a good 23-yards out that fizzed past Floriano before he could bring a hand to it.
The 3-1 Toro advantage took a drastic turn less than four minutes later, when a freshly-subbed Toro keeper saw a straight red for unsporting behavior, leaving CSUDH to 10-men.
VU offered two quickfire shots with the numerical advantage, with
Alex Martinez coming close with a free header that he glanced just wide. They outshot the Toros for the remainder of the half, but CSUDH were simply more clinical. Their game management kept the Lions scoreless, with VU struggling to move the ball and expose the extra-player head start.
The 81
st minute cut the string on any potential VU comeback as the Toros used just their second corner kick of the half to sweep in a fourth and final goal, cementing the 4-1 season-opening loss for the Blue and Gold.
What's Next? The Lions head to CSU Los Angeles at University Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 7 pm.
