ROCKLIN, Calif. – The William Jessup University men's soccer team kicked the 2015 regular season underway Thursday, knocking off the Pioneers of Pacific Union College in shutout fashion 3-0. Senior goalkeeper Zachary Kammerer finished another match with a clean sheet to add to his record, and a two-goal-game from junior Justin Soria provided the bulk of the offense.
Kammerer (Rocklin, CA), entering the final year of his collegiate soccer experience, played all 90-minutes in net for the Warriors. He faced no shots on goal from the Pioneers, mainly due to the strong defensive line by the Warriors squad. The shutout is the 11th of his career and adds to Kammerer's record for the most in WJU men's soccer history.
"We've got a solid back four," said head coach Robbie Handy. "Speed, physical play, it's going to take quite the attackers to get around the outside of us and beat us. I thought they did a great job adjusting and keeping dangerous opportunities to a limit."
The Warriors came out firing Thursday, as they looked to get on the board as early as possible. In the 19th minute, the Warriors came close as junior midfielder Joseph Tappero's (Rocklin, CA) corner kick went to junior Brennan Entz (Auburn, CA) in front of the goal but Jessup couldn't convert on it. Ten minutes later the Warriors had another chance when the other Entz brother, freshman Conner Entz (Auburn, CA), shot one towards the top right corner but missed just wide.
With seven minutes left until halftime, Soria (Rocklin, CA) netted his first goal of the year to put his side on the board. Junior Aaron Roudebush (Rocklin, CA) threaded a beautiful ball through a defender's legs to just outside of the 18-yard box where Soria received it and knocked a shot into the upper right corner. The scoring continued four minutes later when junior Christian Wyatt (Sacramento, CA), making his Jessup debut, curved a rocket into the back of the net from 25 yards out.
Jessup came out attacking to start the second half, firing two shots on goal within the first five minutes. The attack continued for the next 20-minutes, with the ball remaining in their attacking third for the majority of that time. Eventually, in the 70th minute, the pressure paid off as they were awarded a penalty. Soria stepped up to the dot and converted for his second goal of the day.
"It's a good start, always nice to get a result at home," said Handy. "I think it took us a little bit to get going, but we picked it up and improved on things in the second half to get some things going for us. That was good to see, particularly in the attack, thats something we have been focusing on building."
The season continues on Saturday when the Warriors play host to Southern Oregon University at Jessup Field. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and can be viewed live online by visiting portal.stretchinternet.com/jessup.
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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).
