The Master's University men's soccer team fell behind early but came back to beat the La Sierra Golden Eagles 3-1 Thursday night in Riverside, Calif.
La Sierra's Daniel Garcia scored in the second minute but the Mustangs answered quickly, as Trent Rickard converted a penalty kick in the ninth minute to tie it at 1-1, where it stayed at halftime.
TMU took control after the break. The Mustangs out-shot the Golden Eagles 14-10 in the second half, and Rickard put them in front in the 56th minute with a second penalty kick. La Sierra goalkeeper Angel Ayon picked up a yellow card at the same moment. Hunter Phelps then put the game away in the 85th minute, coming off the bench to finish a play Rickard set up. Rickard took eight shots, five on goal, and had a hand in all three goals.
The Mustangs (6-4-2, 5-2-0 GSAC) finished with a 19-16 edge in shots and nine on goal to La Sierra's eight. Andrew Sorto added three shots, two on target, and Michael Masimango took three more.
Franco Barba was the other key piece, finishing with seven saves. Five of those came in the second half, including a pair in the 86th minute right after Phelps' goal as La Sierra tried to get back in it. Elias Quintanar Macias, who led the Golden Eagles with six shots, came closest when he hit the crossbar in the closing minute.
"I'm really proud of the team to be resilient and press for the win late in the game. La Sierra is a great ball-handling team and they make it so hard to get ahold of the ball. We were fortunate to be tied at the half and we came out much better second half," TMU Head Coach Jim Rickard said. "Andrew Sorto did a fantastic job on the left to put La Sierra under pressure and we finally connected with Trent and he took the game over."
The match got physical. There were seven yellow cards, four on TMU and three on La Sierra, and the Mustangs were whistled for 19 fouls to the Golden Eagles' nine. TMU kept its composure when it mattered, and the win sweeps the season series after the 6-2 victory at Reese Field on Sept. 11.
TMU returns home Saturday to face Soka University at 4:00 p.m. at Reese Field.
