SEATTLE, Wash.—Julian Zamora's (R-Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Golden Valley HS) goal in the 12th minute proved to be enough as Bakersfield defeated Utah Valley 1-0 in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Thursday night.

“Tonight was a tough game against a tough team,” said Bakersfield head coach Richie Grant.

David Velasquez (R-Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., Locke HS) set Zamora up for the game winner with a cross in the box. Zamora, the WAC Freshman of the Year, now has 11 goals on the year. The Wolverines attacked immediately as UVU attempted three shots in a 20-second span on the ensuing possession. All three attempts were blocked by the Roadrunner defense. Zamora nearly made it 2-0 with a header in the 36th minute, but the shot was saved by Utah Valley goalie Collin Partee.

CSUB outshot the Wolverines (9-7-2) 9-4 in the first half, but UVU would outshoot the 'Runners in the second half 9-5. Bakersfield goalie Nicolas Clever (So., Cologne, Germany, Gesamtschule Kuerten) made all four of his saves in the second half. The final Wolverines' attempt came with 2:10 to go when Paul Hoffmeister's shot was blocked by the Roadrunner defense.  With the victory, Clever earned his sixth shutout of the year, his second in a row.

Bakersfield (10-7-3) advances to the tournament semifinals Friday night when the Roadrunners take on the second seed, Seattle U at 7:30 p.m.

“We are pleased to be moving on,” Grant said. “We had opportunities to get the second goal, but we protected our goal well.”

~www.GoRunners.com~