Lancers Score Early, Shutout Dixie State To Open 2021 With a Win

Sunday, August 29

St. George, Utah

6:30 PM

California Baptist University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Dixie State University

1-1-0, 0-0-0

California Baptist

Dixie St.

Lancers Score Early, Shutout Dixie State To Open 2021 With a Win

8/29/2021 8:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

ST. GEORGE, UTAH - California Baptist University victoriously opened the 2021 fall season against Dixie State, winning game one in dominant fashion by a score of 2-0.

"I thought we really played well in the first half and asserted ourselves nicely," said Head Coach Coe Michaelson. "As the game wore on, you could see that they are a bit further along with their match fitness but I was pleased to see the resilience we showed to maintain the lead under tough conditions and against a good Dixie side."

The win gives the Lancers an all-time record of 7-2-1 against the Trailblazers and the CBU shutout is the fourth such outcome in the series.

Senior Brian Gonzalez got the Lancers on the board early, taking an assist from Antonio Gomez off the chest and putting it into goal in the ninth minute to give the Lancers a quick one-goal lead. It is the fastest goal to open a season since 2018 when Preston Judd scored in the seventh minute in the opener against Saint Peter's.

Volley off the chest and buried into the top of the net!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/RVwCHJ1PB4
— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) August 30, 2021

With roughly 90 seconds left before the halftime horn, Lincoln Aquino found Reuben Dass for the Lancers' second goal of the half. Aquino's pass made its way through two sets of defenders' legs to set up Dass' shot from 20-yards out, catching the Dixie goalkeeper off his line.

Lincoln >>> Reuben >>> 🥅#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/olTsWk0MXy
— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) August 30, 2021

The majority of the final 45 minutes saw a more defensive game, though DSU managed to get half-a-dozen shots off in the half, four of them came in the final 10 minutes. Senior Gage Rogers and transfer redshirt sophomore Evan Ince split goalkeeping duties for the night and combined for eight saves and the clean sheet.

🙅‍♂️🙅‍♂️ Gage Rogers is tested in the 23rd minute as he blocks a screamer from outside the box and barely has time to get back to his feet before making the second heads-up save!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nwXpiGyDzw
— California Baptist Men's Soccer (@CBUmsoccer) August 30, 2021

UP NEXT

The Lancers now turn their sights to former WAC foes CSU Bakersfield as the two will clash for the first time since the Roadrunners departed the conference in 2019. That game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on September 2 in Bakersfield.