ROCKLIN, Calif. — After starting the season with a draw and two losses, the Jessup men's soccer team secured its first win of 2026 with a 2-1 victory on Saturday at Warrior Field against Cal Poly Humboldt.
"I'm as proud as I can be," Warriors coach
Greg Lazaga said. "I've been telling these guys to try to stick to the roots that we have for our team, to be disciplined in that, and the results will come. We've got 15 new guys on this team who are all getting to know each other. We're super excited about our athleticism and a lot of things, but I love their passions."
The Warriors did a solid job of winning second balls all 90 minutes, which led to more possession and a number of solid opportunities. In the 36th minute, Jessup junior
Brian Ramirez scored off of an assist by senior
Jordee Magana. They added to their lead in the 55th minute with a brilliant finish by junior
Anthony Gambe.
"High on our board today, especially after the way things went down the other day and our last game, was upping the level of physicality," Lazaga said. "That includes stuff like second balls. I'm sure everybody is seeing Hamzah (Gaphoor) in the middle as a beast. He loves winning second balls, and then the little guy in the middle right by him, Hector (Huerta), is just as much of an animal. Both of those guys are doing so much to win second balls, so we're super excited for them."
The Lumberjacks got back in the game with a goal in the 65th minute scored by senior Dominik Chipp with an assist from freshman De Jon Watson, but Jessup took care of business down the stretch with solid defensive play including physical challenges that led to some counter attacks.
"We spent our whole first week, even at camp, on just defensive unit work," Lazaga said. "We still have a lot to grow in, making sure we're in our right spots and are organizing pieces, but they're trying to hold each other accountable. It's great that we have enough depth and interchangeable parts to make things happen."
Jessup finished the match with eight shots and four on target while Humboldt had 14 shots with three on frame. Both goalkeepers, Jessup's
Curtis Lynch and Humboldt's Edwin Monterrosa, had two saves in the contest. There were three total cautions, with Luke Gomes and Kaz Kinoshita receiving yellow cards for the Lumberjacks and Huerta being issued a yellow card for the Warriors.
The Warriors will now look to keep this momentum going into Thursday's match when they will be back at home to face Menlo College. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
"Number one, I'm going to let them just enjoy it and give them a break," Lazaga said. "They've been working really hard for three weeks, learning what it means to be a student-athlete and trying to balance everything. Enjoy the moment, and then it's right back to the drawing board, watch some film, and hopefully put in another couple next week."
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About Jessup University Athletics Jessup University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
