ANGWIN, Calif. – Jesus Enriquez headed in the game-winning goal in the 80th minute and the Bobcats shutout Pacific Union College 1-0 in the California Pacific Conference opener on Thursday afternoon.
With the shutout victory, the Bobcats (4-0-2) have now won five of their last six Cal Pac openers via the shutout and are unbeaten in eight of their last nine conference openers overall.
Enriquez was the Bobcats offensive hero with his first goal of the year as he headed in a rebound inside the goal area. Daniel Borges took the initial shot that was kick saved up into the air and then Enriquez placed his header right between two Pioneers guarding the goal and into the back of the net.
Borges, the reigning Cal Pac Offensive Player of the Week, extended his point scoring streak to six straight matches with the assist.
Angel Joaquin earned his first career shutout being credited with four saves. The Fresno, Calif., native is the seventh keeper in program history to record a clean sheet.
UC Merced led the shot count 13-6, including 8-4 on goal.
Kevin Capetillo held team-high with four shots, two on frame. His first two shots of the day in the opening stanza resulted in UC Merced corner kicks and the Bobcats won the corner kick battle 4-1 overall.
Enriquez and Omar Garcia each put two shots on target in the second half. Garcia took a free kick from 22 yards out in the opening two minutes but the PUC goalkeeper made a leaping save. He had another chance 15 minutes later but it was blocked by the Pioneers wall and then his header attempt on the follow was saved.
In the 73rd minute, PUC's Andres Becerra committed a foul but then stood strong between the posts and saved a Borges penalty shot. Becerra made another nice save on an Enriquez shot in the closing stretch.
PUC didn't record a shot for the first 20 minutes of the second half and didn't put one on frame until the 75th minute which was kick saved by Joaquin.
UC Merced secured the shutout in the final minute stopping two shots from PUC's shot leader Edwin Zabala. He took a through ball and got inside the goal area to take a shot that Joaquin saved, however the ball went right back to Zabala and he fired again but the Bobcats were there to protect the empty net and then managed to clear it.
The Bobcats shutout was the first of the season.
The Cal Pac opener saw six yellow cards issued with four of them being shown to PUC.
With the win, UC Merced improved to 16-0 all-time against the Pioneers.
Up next, UC Merced will play a nonconference match at UC Santa Cruz for the first time since 2014 on Sunday, September 29. First touch is scheduled for 1:00pm at Lower East Field in Santa Cruz, Calif.
