THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On the first night of the season, the Cal Lutheran men's soccer team blitzed past visiting Augsburg (Minn.), 2-0, behind an impressive debut from 11 new Kingsmen on Thursday night at Rolland Stadium.
Of the 22 Kingsmen that took the pitch, half of them were suiting up in the Violet and Gold for the first time, and they did not disappoint. Mixing well with the veteran returners, CLU nearly broke through for a goal in the seventh minute when junior Brandon Kearney put one in the back of the net before offsides was called on the play.
The Auggies and Kingsmen battled to a scoreless draw at the half, but CLU did not wait long to get on the board once the second period commenced.
In the 53rd minute, Oxnard College transfer Jesse Gallardo blasted a free kick from midfield to freshman Luis Perez near the far post. Once he had the ball, Perez knew just what to do with it as he juked past the defender and sent a left footed shot right past the keeper to put the Kingsmen up 1-0.
Not long after, fellow Oxnard College transfer Danny Aguilar got in on the action by sending a 35-yard laser into the top left corner of the goal for a 2-0 advantage.
With a sturdy defensive force all game long, CLU secured the season opening victory. Augsburg outshot the Kingsmen 12-10 while both teams were even 1-1 on corners. Kearney led all players in the game with five shots and Gabe Fernando fired off two shots, with both coming on target. With four saves in goal, Sergio Esquivel notched the shutout in his CLU debut.
Joining Aguilar, Gallardo, Perez and Esquivel in their CLU debuts were Cristian Yepez, Diego Ortega, Jaime Alvarado, Petter Knoph, Jesse Gallardo, Alon Arnaldes, Herman Jacobs and Nico Sabbattella.
Cal Lutheran (1-0) will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Whitman at 7:00 p.m. inside Rolland Stadium.
Box Score: CLU 2, AUG 0
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