STOCKTON, Calif.— Pacific men's soccer (2-1) opened the home season with a 1-0 shutout over UC Riverside (0-3), the defending Big West champions.
 
Fifth-year senior Derick Roque wasted little time thrilling the home fans in the first match at Knoles Field this year, scorings just 61 seconds into the contest on a breakaway for an early 1-0 lead. He became the first Tiger to score his second goal this season; it was the ninth of his career.
 
The one-goal lead stood up for the Tigers as junior goalkeeper Joshua Moya recorded his first clean sheet of the season with four saves.
 
In the first half, each team recorded three shots. The second half was a defensive battle with neither team able to register a shot on goal. Pacific Jose Maria Barrara picked up his second yellow of the match with 20 minutes to play, forcing the Tigers to play a man down for the balance of the game.

"It was a fantastic win, especially with the red card late," said Roque after the game. "We have to keep building off of this. It's good to get this 1-0 win. It was dedication and hard work of the guys that allowed us to keep the shutout with the man down."
 
"Gritty," is how Pacific head coach Adam Reeves described the game. "I'm extremely proud of the guys. We needed to do the gritty things tonight. We had to play 20 minutes with a man down. This was perfect test. We don't often get a red card so we don't play a man down much. The confidence of doing this will help us down the road. This was a good win against a good team.
 
"Derick has been spectacular," Reeves said of his goal scorer. "He has the goals, but he does so much more for us. He is so dedicated to his craft. He's creating for others, plus he is getting rewarded with goals."
 
The Tigers had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks with both Highlander corners coming in the last four minutes.
 
Pacific travels to CSU Bakersfield for a Sunday match against the Roadrunners. The next home game for the Tigers will be a Thursday, Sept. 7 contest against Sacramento State.