Riverside, Calif. - The Golden Eagles men's soccer season ended abruptly, in a 3-2 loss to the University of California – Merced, on Sunday afternoon. A win or tie by the Golden Eagles, would have secured the sixth and final playoff position in the Cal Pac Championship Tournament. Instead, with La Sierra's loss, Simpson University qualified for postseason play, with the final seed.
La Sierra got what they wanted, as Abel Cornejo's unassisted goal, in the 7thminute, gave the Golden Eagles an early lead. It was a lead that lasted for 20 minutes until the Bobcats scored twice in a span of five minutes to take their first lead of the day, 2-1. But just prior to the halftime break, the Golden Eagles caught a break, as the Bobcats were whistled for a hand-ball inside the penalty box, and were awarded a penalty kick. La Sierra's Israel Vasquez calmly and confidently converted the attempt, tying the score at 2-2 heading into the break.
Merced's Andres Lua, scored the game winner and the only goal of the second half. It was Lua's second goal of the match, as the Bobcats made it hold for the win, remaining unbeaten in Cal Pac play with a record of 10-0-1, to win the regular season Cal Pac title.
The Golden Eagles end the season with an overall record of 8-10, including a mark of 5-6 in Cal Pac play, which was good enough for a tie for sixth place in the conference standings with Simpson. Due to Simpson's win over La Sierra, the Red Hawks won the tie breaker and advanced.
Prior to Sunday's match, the men's soccer program recognized Felipe Mendizabal who played his final collegiate match for the Golden Eagles. We wish Felipe nothing but the best moving forward. We would also like to thank all of those who supported the men's soccer program throughout the course of the season. Please stay tuned over the coming months for any and all recruiting news related to the men's soccer program.
