Aug. 31, 2012

Box Score

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LOS ANGELES - Freshman Pedro Velazquez scored his first collegiate goal in his first start of the 2012 season as the LMU men's soccer team earned a 1-1 draw against visiting UNLV Friday at Sullivan Field.

The Lions move to 0-1-1 on the season while the Rebels now sit at 0-2-1 overall.

Velazquez made his first appearance in the Lions' lineup after sitting out the season-opener waiting to be cleared due to an arm injury and came through big, breaking the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute. The rookie settled a pass up the left win from senior Sean Sears and buried a 30-yard shot into the far-post netting, out of the reach of Rebels' keeper Joe Vitale.

In similar fashion to LMU's opener against then No. 4 UC Santa Barbara, however, the Lions conceded the equalizer to UNLV less than two minutes later on a goal by Rodrigo Fuentes. Fuentes controlled a pass from Salvador Bernal in the left corner of the box and beat LMU keeper Billy Thompson far post at the 64:13 mark.

UNLV held a 4-2 shot advantage through the two overtime periods, but neither team managed a threatening attack on goal, settling for the draw.

Thompson finished with six saves on 14 total UNLV shots while Vitale was credited with two saves as the Lions finished with 12 total shots.

The Lions continue their hunt for the first win of the season on Sunday when they host Cornell at 3 p.m. on Sullivan Field. The match-up is the third of a season-opening six-game homestand for LMU.