Beckley, WV – The Washington Adventist University (WAU) men's soccer team faced a tough challenge in their season opener, falling 4-2 to WVU Tech on the road in Beckley, West Virginia. Despite a spirited effort, the Shock could not overcome the Golden Bears, who capitalized on their home advantage to secure the victory.

"WVUTech was a challenging first game on the road for us, but most definitely provided us with a lot of positives to take into Tuesday as we come together and grow stronger," said head coach Daniel Carroll. "We have a lot of new faces on the team and a lot of freshmen who gained valuable experience last night. It just didn't seem to be our day in the first half. It highlighted more than anything the importance of winning our individual duels on the field and taking accountability for our roles and responsibilities, otherwise you will get punished, and that's what happened. WVUTech capitalized very well on our individual mistakes in the first half. We felt to be really up against the home field advantage with nearly every referee call going in favor of the opposition, and this took us far too much off our focus and provided us with a valuable lesson moving forward: to be disciplined and focus on what we can control."

WVU Tech started the match with high intensity, pressing the WAU defense and creating several early chances. The Golden Bears were rewarded for their aggressive start with goals in the 5th minute, 23rd minute, and 38th minute, putting them ahead 3-0.

WAU responded immediately, pushing forward in search of getting on the board. Their efforts paid off eight seconds after the Golden Bears' third goal when Ben Cooksley scored with a powerful shot, bringing the match to 1-3 going into halftime.

However, the momentum quickly shifted back to WVU Tech early in the second half. The Golden Bears added a fourth goal in the 47th minute, giving WVU Tech the 4-1 advantage.

Despite the setback, WAU continued to press forward. Their persistence was rewarded in the 79th minute when Alessandro Peroglio, in his debut match, scored the Shock's second goal, reducing the deficit to 4-2.

The Shock pushed hard in the final minutes, but WVU Tech managed to hold on, securing a 4-2 victory in front of their home crowd. The game ended with about six minutes to play in regulation due to an injury on the field.

"The boys fought hard, played quality soccer at times, and most importantly we learned a lot about ourselves." said Coach Carroll. Our prayers are with the young freshman from WVU Tech who was injured last night on the field. Now, we set our sights on getting a result at Shawnee State tomorrow."

Washington Adventist University will return to the field tomorrow, facing Shawnee State on September 3, when they travel to Shawnee Turf Field in Portsmouth, Ohio.

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