Goals have been hard to come by for the Lions and it was no different this evening as the hosts rattled off eight shots, including three on the same play, before they harvested any fruit from their work. Mustang goal keeper Kevin Larson was solid for the Mustangs, stopping three shots on goal in the first 43 minutes of play. However, the Lions continued to attack, led by junior Tomislav Colic, who battled a Mustang defender down the left side of the box. Fighting through the defense, Colic shot, but Larson knocked it away. Freshman Celestino Diaz, who followed Colic’s lead, took the next shot right in front of the Mustang goal. Another Mustang defender joined Larson to stop Diaz’ attack, but once again the ball squirted free with all three players on the ground in front of the goal. Persistent in his attack, VU’s Ryan Kenney was in perfect position to tap the final rebound in for the go-ahead goal, just one minute before the halftime break.

Vanguard goal keeper Trevor Herrera did not have a first-half save since the Lion defense held the Mustangs to two shots the entire period.

Both teams showed a sense of urgency in the second half with the Lions drawing a penalty at the 59:50 mark. Needing to put some insurance on the scoreboard, Colic took the penalty kick for the Lions and beat Larson with a low shot to the left corner.

Having started the contest under sunny and very warm conditions, the game completely changed from that point. Shortly after VU took the 2-0 lead, the sun went down and a very cool coastal wind came in with a heavy damp fog that gave the final 30 minutes of play an eerie feel as the Mustangs fought to get back in the game. The visitors spent the majority of the final 20 minutes of play on Vanguard’s side of the field, becoming more and more desperate as the clock ticked down. Although the Mustangs controlled the ball, the Lion defense was stellar in preventing scoring opportunities. Herrera notched two saves against TMC’s only two shots on goal and held on for VU’s fourth shutout of the year.

Losing their first GSAC game of the season, the Mustangs drop to 6-1 in GSAC and 11-2-1 overall. VU’s last six wins over TMC have been by either 1-0 or 2-0 scores.