On Wednesday, Sept. 14, the Regals soccer team defeated the CalTech Beavers in their conference opener. The final score was 1-0, with the goal scored 11 minutes into the first half by senior center fielder Isabella Velijacic.

“It’s always good to score early on ‘cause it sets the tone for the rest of the game, and it’s a great feeling when you know you have your teammates behind you,” Velijacic said.

This game gave the Regals their first shut out of the season, which means the other team didn’t score a single goal the entire game. Senior goalkeeper Logan Duford had only touched the ball twice the entire game, as her teammates kept a strong offense and defense. 

“I have to give all credit to my backline, I only touched the ball twice and they really deserve the shut out. We’ve been working hard not to allow any goals, so I give all the credit to them,” Duford said. 

This win against the CalTech Beavers is the Regals’ third in a row. 

“It was great to get a win, I didn’t think we were as sharp as we could’ve been tonight. I thought we started the game really well the first 20 minutes, then kind of dropped off from there, but I was happy we were able to push through and get the results,” Head Coach Frank Marino said.

The Regals had taken a total of 10 shots throughout the game, but only half of them had gotten close to the goal. Moving forward, the team aims to improve so they can put up an  even better fight in later games, especially in the conference. 

“We got to do a better job on keeping possession, continuing to frame, and doing a better job on the final third,” Marino said. 

The players were more upbeat than their analytical coach following the game.

“I think our culture has just really grown so far and this is a good start, we got to win the first one of conference so this will be good leading up to the rest of our season,” Velijacic said.

This mood was even sweeter, as these three wins came after having lost twice in a row and a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the team during the preseason. 

“We had a rough start in the beginning with COVID, but this team has overcome a lot, which has only brought us closer, and these three wins now have just put us on a check up,” Duford said. 

As the team celebrated, Marino ensured that the Regals did not get ahead of themselves early into the season. 

“A win to start the conference is good, but we have to improve and get better as the season goes on,” Marino said. 

The Regals aim to keep this momentum going and not let their opponents intimidate them. 

“Continuing to come out no matter the opponent and just playing with everything we got as if it’s the last game we are going to play, if we keep doing that, then I think we are going to get the result that we want,” Velijacic said.

The Regals’ next home game will be on Saturday, Sept. 24, against the University of Redlands Bulldogs, another conference game.