BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A determined back line and Ricardo Soza's first collegiate goal helped the Roadrunner men's soccer team defeat Western Athletic Conference foe UNLV on Sunday. CSU Bakersfield extended its league win streak to three matches with the victory at the Main Soccer Field and its just one point back of WAC leader Seattle U.

"We're really pleased with the result," said Richie Grant, Head Coach of the `Runners. "When we looked at the schedule at the start of the year, it was four really difficult games to open the season. We took a big hit at Seattle. I thought we prepared well, but Seattle was just better than us on the day. We are so pleased with the response from our team because we came back that Sunday and ground out a game against Utah Valley and this has been a good week for us."

The opening 45 minutes was mostly calm with both teams feeling each other out. With four minutes left in the second half, the `Runners started a promising counter with Lucas Vukovic streaking down the left side. The freshman from Toronto, Ontario danced to the middle and reared back for a shot, but a UNLV slide tackle prevented a blast that might have found the back of the net, keeping the match scoreless.

Five minutes into the second half, redshirt sophomore Sebastian Mentel used some fancy footwork to create some space for himself and went storming down the left side. The native of Oakville, Ontario crossed the ball into the box and freshman Ricardo Soza tapped it home for his first goal of the season, giving the `Runners a 1-0 lead.

UNLV was not content to go down without a fight. The Rebels put up 10 shots in the second period alone, but only three were on target as the CSUB back line held strong. Led by sophomore Jeremie Charron and senior Jamie Carey-Morrell, who both cleared numerous crosses out, the `Runner defense kept UNLV off the scoreboard for a clean sheet.

Redshirt freshman Detre Bell added six saves in the shutout while organizing the solid defense. Mentel's assist on Sunday gave him four points on the weekend after a goal and an assist in Friday's overtime win over Grand Canyon.

CSUB (5-6-0, 3-1-0 WAC) will hit the road next week for a single match on Oct. 12. The `Runners will face off against Houston Baptist with kickoff set for 7 p.m. (CT).

~GoRunners.com~