Aug. 27, 2006

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Wilmer Lopez scored in the 10th minute as nationally ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills defeated Western Washington University, 1-0, in a non-conference men's soccer game Sunday at Orca Field on the Whatcom Community College campus.

It was the home opener for Western, which fell to 0-2.

CSUDH, ranked No.5 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Preseason Poll, was making its season debut. Last year, the Toros won the Far West Region championship and reached the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals.

"I thought we played well, much better than (2-1 loss) at Humboldt State," said Western coach Travis Connell. "The guys played their tails off and stuck to the game plan. You can't ask for more than that."

Lopez scored the game's only goal on a free kick from 20 yards, bending his shot around a seven-man Western wall into the bottom left corner.

"We had a stretch of about 10 minutes where we had too many fouls in our own third, and they scored on one of those free kicks. That's a great team. I'd be surprised if we see anyone better than them."

Western's best chance came in the 67th minute. Midfielder Matt Pele (So., Kennewick/Kamiakin) dribbled to the end line, then sent a ball into the goalmouth, but forward Gus Zadra's (Sr., Poulsbo/North Kitsap) lunging effort went just wide of the left post.

CSUDH had a 12-8 advantage in shots.

Western entertains Cal State Stanislaus on Wednesday (12 noon) at Whatcom CC.

Western Washington vs. Cal State Dominguez HillsDate: 8/27/06  Attendance: 200Goals by Period            1   2      TotalCal State Dominguez Hills  1   0  ---   1Western Washington         0   0  ---   0SCORING SUMMARY:CSUDH - Lopez (unassisted), 9:20Shots: Western Washington 8, Cal State Dominguez Hills 12Corner kicks: Western Washington 1, Cal State Dominguez Hills 6Fouls: Western Washington 26, Cal State Dominguez Hills 26Saves: Western Washington 1 (King 1), Cal State Dominguez Hills 0 (Polak 0)