DENVER, Colo. – The Regis University Men's Soccer team kicked off their 2025 season with a 3-1 victory over Azusa Pacific University (Calif.), 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. The Rangers start the year 1-0, while the Cougars fall to 0-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Regis's freshman goalkeeper, Zach Jennings, would see action early, going to the ground to get a hand on a save in the seventh minute. After a shot by Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit went out top, the game would get chippy, as each team earned a yellow card. At 28:28, Sahar Golov sent ahead a pass from midfield, which Jacobo Betancourt-Tovar would put in for the first Ranger goal of the season. However, five minutes later, APU's Osmin Carranza would fire from outside the box, and hit the crossbar into the goal to tie the match at 1-1 going into the break.

Julian Fally would take a shot early in the second half, but it would be Betancourt-Tovar, on an assist from Johan Murillo, that gave the lead back to the Rangers at 62:22. A red card for the Cougars put Regis a man-up, and in the 78th minute, a foul by Azusa gave Carlson-Du Toit a penalty shot opportunity. He would place it perfectly in the top right corner, giving Regis the 3-1 advantage. With less than two minutes left in the match, APU would also get a penalty shot, but Jennings would complete the save in the bottom right corner, and RU held strong for the 3-1 win.

"First games always a bit nervy but we're really proud of the guys and the work they put in the get the 3 pts," said head coach Taylor Diem. "Azusa is a good team and they made things difficult for us at times with their shape in midfield. I thought we showed a lot of character after they equalized to continue playing and wait for our chances and it eventually paid off. It's always a good thing when you can get a result when you're not playing your best, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get up to the standards we've set for ourselves this season."

GAME NOTES

·         Carlson-Du Toit and Betancourt-Tovar each took four shots. Betancourt-Tovar landed three of his on target, with two goals

·         Andrew Gomez took two shots for APU, landing both on goal

·         Jennings (1-0) earned the win with two saves

·         Alexis Rodriguez (0-2) recorded the loss with one save

UP NEXT

Regis returns to the pitch on Thursday, September 11, at Biola University (Calif.), at 8 pm MT.