IRVINE, Calif. - For the third straight time in two seasons, No. 17 Concordia University Irvine and No. 24 Cal State LA played a close match that ended in a 1-0 result.

Unfortunately for the host Golden Eagles, the visitors from LA net the only goal of the game in the second half to escape with a 1-0 victory.

It was a great display of defense as the evenly-matched teams faced off in their season opener on Thursday night under the lights. These two squads have played so many close games in their recent history that this marked the fifth consecutive meeting where neither team had scored multiple goals in a match.

Starting goalkeeper Riley Urquiza collected two saves and cutoff a number of dangerous crosses through out the contest.

CUI controlled possession for a large chunk of the first half.   The host Golden Eagles even out shot the visitors 13-4.

Riley Walkington, Hailey Havican and newcomer Nikki Marino led CUI with two shots apiece.

Concordia returns to action with another highly-anticipated home match this Monday, Sept. 4 against No. 1 and defending national champion Western Washington. 

It will be a rematch of the regional playoff game from last fall where the Vikings defeated CUI 1-0 up in the Pacific Northwest after the Golden Eagles earned their first two playoff wins of the NCAA DII era.

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