ROCKLIN, Calif. – The William Jessup University men's soccer squad kicked off the next chapter of their season with their 2015 conference opener. Slated on the schedule to begin year two in the GSAC was a tough opponent in 8th ranked Vanguard University. After a physical 90 minutes of soccer, the Warriors finished on the rough end of a 2-0 defeat.
The Warriors started out Saturday's conference opener with more of a defensive mindset for the second consecutive match, as Vanguard controlled the early possession. Jessup was able to get a few counterattack opportunities to try and crack the scoreboard, but for the most part momentum was heavily in the corner of the highly ranked Lions.
In the 39th minute of Saturday's match, the scoreboard was finally put to use as a rough tackle by senior Cody Cantrell (Santa Rosa, CA) in the box awarded Vanguard a penalty kick. Brandon Gomez stepped up to the dot to attempt the penalty, and he converted with a driving ball into the lower left corner to give the Lions the lead.
The second half was mostly the same for Jessup as the opening frame; Vanguard came out on the attack. Jessup was able to produce more offensive opportunities in the final 45-minutes, increasing their shot total from 4 (first half) to 7 in the second half. Jessup's best chance to equalize the match came in the 60th minute when junior Aaron Roudebush (Rocklin, CA) curved a free kick around the wall, but it narrowly flew over the crossbar.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, luck would not be in their favor as in the 74th minute George Zuniga netted his first goal of the year off a corner kick to put the Lions up 2-0.
In goal for the Warriors was senior Zachary Kammerer (Rocklin, CA). Kammerer played a strong game in net; recording 6 saves while holding Vanguard to just the two well placed goals.
"We haven't faced that level of competition yet," said head coach Robbie Handy on facing a top-ten ranked team. "I'm really proud of our guys. Although the result wasn't there, I hope they walk away knowing we had opportunities, we competed, we were in the game the whole time, and now we look forward to the next one.
The loss pushes the Warriors to now 2-4-1 overall on the season, and 0-1 in conference play. Jessup continues the regular season on Wednesday when they travel to Redding to take on rival Simpson University at 3:00 p.m. The Warriors do not return home to Jessup Field until October 15, when they will look to snap their four match home winless streak as they take on Arizona Christian.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook), @WJUSports (twitter), and @JessupAthletics (Instagram, and Snapchat).
