Men's Soccer
9/8/2007 - Men’s Soccer opens season 3-1
Men’s Soccer opened the 2007 season on the road at La Sierra University. With game time temperature near 110 degrees, the Royals made the heat bearable by defeating La Sierra, 6-2. Sophomore Jose Andrade found the back of the net twice. Not to be out done, Senior Jeff Lucatero also knocked in two goals. Junior Victor Ramon and Freshman Mike Delaney rounded out the scoring with a goal each. With the win, the Royals improved to 1-0. Freshman Goalkeeper Jacob Brown picked up the win in his first collegiate game.
The men traveled much farther down the road to participate in three matches at the Westminster (UT) Classic. The men would eventually win two of three and improve to 3-1 on the season.
For match one, the men took on the host school Westminster University. The Griffins dominated from the very beginning with Sean Aslett scoring in the sixth minute. Rue Van Dyke scored the second and final goal of the game in the 53rd minute. Hope only managed two shots. Jacob Brown recorded 10 saves while being peppered by 28 shots from the Griffins. The 2-0 loss dropped the Royals to 1-1 on the season.
In the second match, playing a man down because of a red card to Senior Jeff Lucatero, the Royals forced overtime before putting away Embry-Riddle University (AZ), 1-0. Sophomore Jose Andrade hammered home the game winning goal in the 99th minute. Junior Tyler Williams was credited with the assist by threading a perfect pass through the Eagles defense to an oncoming Andrade. The Eagles dominated the match in most statiscal categories besides the score. Hope was out shot 18-10 including 9-4 with shots on goal. Embry-Riddle forced the Royals into nine saves- eight by Jacob Brown and one team save. The Royals improved to 2-1 on the season.
A 2-0 win over Northwest Christian College (OR) in the third match improved the Royals to 3-1 on their young season. Freshman Perris Rowan opened the scoring by heading in a beautiful right side cross off the foot of Junior Victor Ramon. The goal was the first of the season for Rowan. Freshman Mike Delaney and Sophomore Jose Andrade worked a 2-on-1 break to perfection to cap off the scoring. Andrade went 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper and found a wide open Delaney who scored (his second of the season). Freshman Goalkeeper Jacob Brown recorded 9 saves and his second consecutive shutout.
With only two returners from 2006 and 16 newcomers, everyone is “new” and must learn to play together. The Freshman on the roster may be the key to success in 2007 as many find themselves in the starting lineup. Head Coach Joe Lurker said “My team is off to good start but we obviously still have a long road ahead. Keeping everyone healthy will be a huge factor in determining a winning or losing season.”