YUMA, Ariz. — The College of Southern Nevada men's soccer team opened conference play Saturday against Arizona Western College, falling 5-0 to the Matadors in Yuma.
Southern Nevada withstood sustained pressure for much of the opening half behind goalkeeper Diego Mendez, who repeatedly kept the Coyotes within striking distance. Arizona Western generated 25 first-half shots, but CSN held the Matadors scoreless until Leo Rodriguez broke through in the 34th minute. Tyrese Agbontaen added another in the 41st to send Southern Nevada into halftime trailing 2-0.
The Coyotes' best first-half opportunity came from Jose Martin Ospina, whose attempt in the 25th minute was turned away by Arizona Western goalkeeper Sebastian Belitrandi. CSN also received key defensive stops from Erik Espinoza and Abraham Chavez-Roman as the Coyotes worked to keep the Matadors off the board.
Southern Nevada came out of halftime looking to cut into the deficit, with Javier Montes putting a shot on goal just 29 seconds into the second half. Matias Martinez followed with another shot on target in the 57th minute, but Belitrandi stopped both opportunities.
Arizona Western extended its advantage on an own goal in the 49th minute before Agbontaen struck again in the 72nd for his second goal of the match. Seojin Park closed the scoring in the 77th minute.
Despite the final margin, Mendez faced a heavy workload and finished the full 90 minutes with 14 saves. CSN recorded four shots, putting three on goal, with Martinez, Montes and Ospina each testing Belitrandi. Espinoza accounted for the Coyotes' other attempt. Arizona Western finished with 45 shots and nine corner kicks.
The loss drops Southern Nevada to 1-6-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Arizona Western improves to 5-1-1 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
