Cougar soccer shuts out TMCC in season opener

On Friday, the Cougars men's soccer team opened their season against Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, NV after a year hiatus. Under the lights, the Cougars took an early lead with a goal by Will Wray in the twenty second minute of the first half, and never let up. Wray was assisted by Marcos Paiz.

Throughout the match, Cougars (1-0) sophomore goalkeeper, Cristobal Romero was tested on nineteen occasions. Early on, TMCC (2-1) sophomore Adolfo Sanchez missed a penalty kick in the fifteenth minute, proving to be beneficial to the Cougars success.

"It was very exciting to be able to get on the pitch after such a long time," said Head Coach Alex Machin. It was nerve-racking, especially playing such a good squad like the Lizards. The men fought hard for 90 minutes despite the lack of offensive shots."

In the eighty-fifth minute of the second half, Tom Pechaudra received a second yellow card that led to an ejection from the match. Pechaudra, a key component for the Cougars this season, will be required to serve a one game suspension as a consequence for the violation.

"We had some great moments going forward but we were better on the defensive end," said Machin. "Mael Garf was great defensively for us as well as Tomas Ulla."

The Cougars will try and build on the success of their season opener as they face the Blue Devils of Merced College at 7 pm on September 3 in Merced. They open conference play on Sept. 24 against Butte.