La Verne, CA — The University of La Verne men's soccer team came out hot in the second half against San Diego Christian, scoring three goals early in the period on their way to a 4-2 season-opening win over the Hawks.
Two La Verne newcomers got on the board in their Leopard debut. In the first half, the Hawks took the opening lead of the game in the 16th minute but it didn't take La Verne long to respond. Less than a minute later, sophomore newcomer Oluwafunminiyi Akanwo curled a free kick from the left side of the goal past a wall of defenders and bounced it past the keeper for the Leopards' first goal of the year.
Seven minutes into the second half, sophomore Adrian Landeros headed a Hawk goal kick from midfield back towards the goalie and junior transfer Jovanni Garcia timed the pass perfectly. Garcia charged past a pair of defenders and off one touch sent it to the back of the net with his left foot to give the Leopards their first lead of the game.
Minutes later, James Coe grabbed a pass in the box and tapped it to a waiting Cesar Rodriguez who booted the shot in for the 3-1 advantage. The Leopards continued the barrage five minutes later when Garcia sent a pass from the end line to Daniel Ortega at the top of the box. Ortega lofted a shot past a diving Sebastian Zertuche to the top right corner the goal to put La Verne up by three.
Christian Aryes Del Castillo added a penalty kick goal for the Hawks later in the game to bring the final to 4-2.
Kevan Rehmani finished with two save in his first game as a Leopards
The win marks the Leopards seventh-straight season-opening victory.
Next Game
The Leopards are back in action on Saturday with a 7 p.m. home game against Providence Christian.
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