Riverside, Calif. - For the third time in as many matches, the Golden Eagles men's soccer team played extra time, with tonight's result ending in their first loss of the season. San Diego Christian scored the game winning goal in the first overtime period, to defeat La Sierra, 4-3, in tonight's non-conference match. The first two overtime matches resulted in a win and a tie, with the loss pulling the team's record to an even 1-1-1 on the season.
On paper, it was a distinct advantage for the Golden Eagles who finished with a 27-10 advantage in total shots and a 16-4 advantage in shots-on-goal. But the Hawks made the best of their chances to steal the victory.
In what proved to be a see-saw match, the Golden Eagles took an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Mario Calderon, on an assist by Pedro Blaquier. The Hawks tied the score, with the help of an own goal by the Golden Eagles, in the 25thminute of play.
Just four minutes later, Jessie Aramburo scored an unassisted goal to retake the lead, only to be matched by William Nyambo, in the 33rdminute, sending both teams into the halftime break knotted at 2-2.
The Hawks took their first lead of the match with a goal in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Golden Eagles quickly got it back when Israel Vasquez converted a penalty kick to tie things back up at 3-3.
With the first overtime period winding down, Nyambo lofted a ball over the Golden Eagles defense and just inside the far post for the game-winner.
The Golden Eagles were unable to take advantage of some prime scoring opportunities and were stonewalled with some impressive saves by San Diego's goalkeeper, Sabastian Zertuche, who finished with 13 saves on the night.
Next Up: The men's soccer team will have a week to prepare for their next match against Hope International University. Next Thursday's (September 5, at 7pm) non-conference match will be the fourth straight home match, for the Golden Eagles, to start the season. It will be their final home match before playing their first two road matches of the young season. Next week's match will be the first meeting between the two programs since the 2017 season, when the Golden Eagles defeated the Royals, 2-1.
