Lions claim opener
One senior captain’s game jersey was misplaced and another senior captain was displaced from the lineup due to a minor injury. But ultimately, host Vanguard University did enough in a 2-0 season-opening victory over nonconference foe La Sierra for it to be comfortably embraced by Lions Coach Randy Dodge.
“We put a lot of work into the preseason these last few weeks and we saw a lot of those things come to fruition,” said Dodge, in his 14th season at the helm and coming off a 16-5 campaign that ended in the second round of the NAIA Tournament. “But we’re really young and we had a couple guys out injured.”
There are 14 freshman on the roster for the Lions, ranked No. 14 in the NAIA Division I preseason poll. There are six seniors, six juniors and five sophomores.
One of those freshmen gave up his jersey to senior Juan Arellano, a three-time All-Golden State Athletic Conference midfielder who earned second-team All-American laurels last fall.
Arellano, whom Dodge said can’t find his customary No. 10 jersey, had three shots to help the Lions post an 18-8 advantage in that department.
Senior Jose Azpeita opened the scoring in the 19th minute, volleying in a rebound when La Sierra goalkeeper Nick Putrasahan stopped a booming shot by junior Golden West College transfer Brian Torres.
Junior midfielder Jose Castillo finalized the scoring in the 28th minute, thanks to some seamless passing by two teammates. Junior defender Nathan Miramontes began the sequence, directing a through ball from midfield toward Azpeita, who was about 10 yards outside the 18-yard box. Azpeita one-touched a rolling pass forward onto the foot of an overlapping Castillo, who buried a driving shot from the right wing into the net.
Dodge said senior center back Josh Davis, another returning All-GSAC performer, was held out as a precaution, to ensure his return on Friday, when the Lions play host to No. 7-ranked Rocky Mountain College of Colorado.
“He’s the backbone of our back line,” Dodge said. “Once he is back on Friday, that shifts our other center back to right back and it shifts some other players into different places and gives us a little more flexibility.”
Junior goalkeeper Brandon Gomez, a two-time All-GSAC honoree, made two saves to preserve the shutout. He had 10 clean sheets a year ago, when he posted a 0.84 goals-against average.
Castillo led the winners with four shots, while Torres added three. Ten Lions had at least one shot.
“We’re pretty dynamic,” Dodge said. “The kids just need to learn how to grind.”
Dodge said senior Gerardo Cruz, who started at right back, returned after missing all but two games last season with a torn ACL.
Freshman Isaias Reyes, who provided quality minutes off the bench, saw his first collegiate action after redshirting last season, as did redshirt freshman and reserve midfielder Jared Gould.
“The last 20 minutes, we only had one senior on the field,” Dodge said. “Everyone else was a freshman or a sophomore, which is awesome. We need to get that experience for them as we move forward, because they are the future of our program. We’re building, so if we can have some games like this to have that happen, we want that.”
