Riverside, Calif. – It's been well over one year since the La Sierra University Men's Soccer Program has competed due to COVID-19 constraints. Today that drought ended when the Golden Eagles took to the pitch, hosting San Diego Christian College (Santee, Calif.). Unfortunately, on this Holiday Monday, The Hawks proved to be too much for the Golden Eagles and secured a 3-1 victory.
The Golden Eagles played strong defense, despite numerous foul calls, for most of the first half with Goalkeeper, Javier Lopez making three saves. It looked as though the Golden Eagles might score first, with a corner kick in the seventh minute, but the ball went wide. The Golden Eagles had another chance seconds later, but again, the ball went just wide of the goal. The Hawks, spurred on by the Golden Eagles near misses at the net, took control and scored at the 20-minute mark. With time winding down in the first half, the Golden Eagles took one more shot on goal, but couldn't convert, ending the half down by one.
The Second half would heat up as the Golden Eagles came out with a sense of urgency, however, it was short lived, as the Hawks found the back of the Golden Eagles net once again, putting the score at 2-1. Never going down without a fight, the Golden Eagles kept working hard and it paid off at the 78-minute mark, when Abel Cornejo scored. Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last long when a penalty kick was awarded to the Hawks who converted, bringing the score to 3-1 with only 10 minutes left in the game. The Golden Eagles continued to attack, but were unable to score before the horn sounded, signaling the end of the game.
Coach Jesse Olivas said, "I thought it was a good showing for the boys…not the result we wanted, but there were a lot of positives…we're excited for the next one."
Next up, the Golden Eagles travel to San Marcos for a match up with the University of Saint Katherine, Feb. 21st.
