LOS ANGELES – The University of California, Merced men's soccer team fell 4-1 to No. 1 Cal State LA on Sunday afternoon at University Stadium.
Sunday's match marked the Bobcats (2-3-3) first ever contest against a No. 1 team in NCAA Division II. Cal State LA improved to 8-0-1 on the season.
Cal State LA wasted no time getting on the board with goals from Felix Alverdale in the fifth minute and eighth minute.
Erlin Gomez cut the Bobcats deficit in half with his team-leading third goal of the year, a header off an Omar Garcia free kick in the 22nd minute. Garcia's assist was his first of the season and the tenth of his career.
Christian Khanishian had a shot saved five minutes later. The Bobcats only other shot on goal came in the 90th minute by Gomez.
Cal State LA made it 3-1 in the 49th minute and capped the scoring in the 86th minute for the 4-1 victory.
UC Merced was outshot 31-4, 16-3 on frame.
Angel Joaquin had a career-high 12 saves, the second most in program history and the most by any Bobcat all-time in a non-overtime game. Joaquin is also the first CCAA player with at least 12 saves since Sonoma State's Reinier Ter Riet in 2022. With his efforts, Joaquin passed Bernardo Garcia for third in program history with 103 career saves.
Joaquin saved a penalty kick in the tenth minute as part of his 12-save afternoon.
Braxton Fleming played the full 90 minutes for the second time in the last three games.
Eli Langer and Jason Williamson made their collegiate debut.
Up next, UC Merced will finish a three-game road trip against Cal State East Bay at the Oakland Roots Training Facility in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, October 2. First touch is set for 12:30pm.
