LA VERNE, Calif. — The Trevor Persson era got off to an impressive start as the University of La Verne men's soccer team defeated Arizona Christian, 2-0, in the season opener at the Ortmayer Stadium on Saturday night.

How it happened: After controlling possession to begin the game, La Verne broke through in the 33^rd minute when Raymundo Alcaraz one-timed a perfect feed from Justin Almandinger into the bottom left corner to put the Leopards ahead.

The Firestorm started to press higher up the field after conceding, but were unable to piece anything together. Then in the waning moments of the first half, La Verne got possession of the ball in their third of the field and played a perfect through ball that freed up La Verne 100 meter record holder Nick Gonsalves for a 1-on-1 opportunity against Arizona Christian goalkeeper Drew Cline. Cline came out of the box to challenge Gonsalves, but was too aggressive with the tackle and was shown the red card with just two seconds left in the first half. This forced the Firestorm to play with 10 men for the entire second half.

It was over when: After a botched clearance by an Arizona Christian defender early in the second half, Nathan Gonzalez snuck behind and threaded a perfect headed pass to Saul Uribe, who buried one from almost the exact same spot where Alacaraz scored in the first half.

Player of the game: Gonzalez played crucial roles in both goals. He got the credit for the direct assist on Uribe's goal, but he also had a big helping hand on Alacaraz's opener. It was Gonzalez who received a long ball down the right side, cut inside and dropped it off to Almandinger who eventually got the assist. In addition, Gonzalez put three shots on goal, the most of any player.

Stat of the game: Arizona Christian put only four shots on goal and none of them were of the dangerous kind. La Verne cleared the ball decisively in dangerous areas and controlled the game well.

What it means: The Leopards and coach Persson could not have asked for a better start to season. They get the first win out of the way early and will try to build on their foundation in the remaining non-conference games leading up to the SCIAC season.

Up next: La Verne hosts Hope International on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in Ortmayer Stadium.