Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Two games into the 2015 season, the USD men's soccer team (2-0-0) has a pair of 3-0 shutouts. After beating No. 16 Cal 3-0 on Friday, the Toreros blanked UC Riverside by the same score Monday evening in front of 1,582 fans at Torero Stadium. Darragh Vieyra gave USD a 1-0 halftime lead and then Merlin Hoeckendorff and Keegan Smith scored a pair of second half goals. It is the first time since 2009 that the Toreros have begun a season with two shutout wins.

The Toreros controlled the flow of the match from the first whistle, but didn't have many scoring opportunities in the first 30 minutes. Senior Darragh Vieyra got USD on the board with a beautiful goal on a free kick in the 30th minute. Kicking from 20 yards out on the right wing, a spot he kicked from just five minutes prior, Vieyra launched a bender that snuck into the upper left corner of the net.

In the closing seconds of the first half, the Highlanders launched a desperation shot from near the midfield line which USD keeper Thomas Olsen punched out to clear the danger. The ball bounced to Dylan Smith who volleyed it into the goal just as the clock reached 45:00 minutes. The Highlanders celebrated as if they had tied the match at 1-1, but after a long discussion the referees declared that the ball had crossed the line just after the buzzer and called the goal off. The Highlander coaching staff argued to no avail, and were given a yellow and red card during halftime.

The "would-be" goal ended up to be a moot point, as USD tacked on two more second half goals. In the 58th minute, Djordje Babic lofted in a corner kick that defender Merlin Hoeckendorff's headed past UC Riverside's keeper, Ashkan Khosravi.

Five minutes later, Keegan Smith fielded a ball at midfield and took it the distance down the right sideline before slipping it into the lower left corner to put USD up 3-0.

Including the two cards awarded to the UCR coaching staff, the Highlanders picked up five total cards, capped off by a red card for Andre Parada in the 67th minute, forcing UCR to play with ten men for the final 23 minutes.

Thomas Olsen (2-0-0), who was named WCC Player of the Week earlier today, picked up another shutout, only needing one save due to excellent play of the Torero defensive back line.

The Toreros have their first road game on Friday when they play at New Mexico at 6:00 p.m.