California Baptist University
University of California Riverside
CROSSTOWN TRAFFIC
8/27/2010 6:48:00 AM | Men's Soccer
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- California Baptist University was hoping to play the part of giant-killer for the second straight game. UC Riverside's Arnie Sanchez got in the Lancers' way.
Sanchez scored in the 20th minute and then again in the late in the game to lift the NCAA Division I Highlanders to a 2-0 win over the Lancers Thursday night in a battle of crosstown universities at the UCR Soccer Stadium.
Coming off a thrilling 2-1 win over NCAA Division I No. 28-ranked Sacramento State last Saturday, the Lancers were looking to pull off a rare double, but a poor first half did them in as they suffered their first loss of the season.
"We weren't very good in the first 45 minutes, and it cost us tonight," said CBU Head Coach Ryan Jorden. "We learned a valuable lesson tonight that hopefully we can build on as we move forward. We have to be ready to go out of the gate each game."
In a physical game that had five cautions, UCR struck first when in the 20th minute, Cesar Diaz played a ball from the middle of the field to the left side to Sanchez, who snuck in behind a Lancer defender. Sanchez took a touch and then hammered a left-footed shot from just inside the area past a charging Dan Kelly to give the Highlanders an early advantage.
UCR out-shot the Lancers, 17-8, for the game and nearly struck again in the 62nd minute but Ruben Sanchez cleared Richie Osborne's shot off the line, keeping the deficit at just one goal.
The Lancers pushed forward looking for the equalizer, but it never came as they were only able to get four shots in the second half, just two of them on frame. Sanchez put the game away for the Highlanders in the 82nd minute when he received a ball at the top of the area and then hit a bullet over Kelly that grazed the underside of the crossbar and hit the back of the net.
Kelly made four saves, all in the second half. Nick Goldreich and Cody Suppe combined for the clean sheet for UCR.
The usually formidable Lancer defense, which set a program record last year for fewest goals allowed in a season, gave up two goals in a game for the first time in six games dating back to last Oct. 17 against Azusa Pacific.
