SAN DIEGO- Blake Hazelton's first goal as a Sea Lion led the Point Loma men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, Sept. 21.
 
The Sea Lions opened up their first game at home after a being away for 16 days with a win, but it did not come easy. PLNU found themselves defensive in most of the first half because of the pressure applied by Cal State San Marcos. The offense could not find their flow let alone find many scoring chances. Point Loma adjusted to the Cal State San Marcos' pressure with pressure of their own. Both teams would trade possessions, but could not get any shots on goal. The teams would combine for 17 fouls and zero shots on goal. PLNU and CSUSM would head to halftime tied 0-0.

The Sea Lions flipped the script on the Cougars coming out of halftime, applying offensive pressure and opening up their offense. David Achaerandio had two great looks at the goal early on in the second half but would sail the shots high. After a few possession changes, Cal State San Marcos received a free kick off the left side of the box. The Cougars would take a shot off the free kick that would be saved by Connor McEwen, but the ball was still loose. Another Cougar came in and tried to knock it in with his left boot but McEwen would make a spectacular save to preserve the shutout and tie game. 
 
After the close call on the defensive end of the pitch, the Sea Lions would take control of the ball and created a chance for themselves. In the 62nd minute of the game PLNU was rewarded a free kick on a foul by a Cougar player. Tim Siegfried fired a shot off the kick that was punched out by the keeper. The ball trickled around the penalty shot area before it found the right foot of Blake Hazelton, who put it in the back of the net for the first goal of the game. The Sea Lions would take the lead 1-0. For the remainder of the match the teams would continue to pressure and be very physical but no other chances were created. The Sea Lions defeated the Cougars 1-0

Team records
Point Loma (4-1-0, 0-0-0 PacWest), Cal State San Marcos (2-4-0, 0-0-0 CCAA)

Wolf's Words
On Cal State San Marcos' aggressiveness "They have a really good coach, and are a very good team. We have watched them on film and knew it was going to be a difficult game coming in, especially after how much we expended after UCSD."
 
On two wins in three days: "It is so difficult what we ask of the guys, but there is a little something different about this team. They can dig deep. I still think we were heavy from Thursday, but to win two derby games in three days is awesome."
 
On the Hazelton goal: "That was pretty cool. Tim Siegfried took a good free kick and Blake Hazelton followed it up, it was good. We are asking so much of Blake, he is a freshmen, but for him to score a goal in this kind of game is huge."

On the defense: "You have to do both really well, you cant just be an attacking team, and you cant just be a defending team, you have to be able to do both. I definitely want to create more chances than we have right now but if you keep a clean sheet you definitely have a lot of chances to win games."

On upcoming matches against GNAC opponents: "Another massive weekend again. Anytime you play outside your league it has postseason ramifications. Two really good team, with really good coaches. They are going to be hard games and we hope to go up and put on some good performances. 

Scoring Summary
61:13 - PLNU GOAL: Blake Hazelton (Tim Siegfried) [PLNU 1, UCSD 0]
 
News and notes
> That was Blake Hazelton's first goal as a Sea Lion
> That is Connor McEwen's second shutout of the season.
> That win broke a six-game losing streak against Cal State San Marcos. 
 
Next match
The Point Loma men's soccer will travel to Washington state to play Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26.