CALIFORNIA (Sept. 2) – The California University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 non-conference overtime decision against Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday evening at Phillipsburg Soccer Facility. 

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 0-2 overall while playing a pair of non-conference games against Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponents. Meanwhile, the Cardinals secure their first win of the 2017 season and move to 1-0-1 this season. 

Both teams struggled to find opportunities early in the game and Wheeling Jesuit saw its best chance in the half ring off the post in the 25th minute of the contest. Cal U posted three shots in the first half, but none of them found the back of the net. The game remained scoreless heading into halftime.

Midway through the second half, Wheeling Jesuit appeared to break the tie, but the apparent goal was called off after the assistant referee waved his flag for a foul earlier in the attack. The Cardinals did eventually break through in the 79th minute when Sullivan Saouzanet buried the ball into the left side of the net. Just four minutes later, junior Josh Hershey (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) fired a free kick in from about midfield that deflected off the goalie and was put into the net by sophomore Joseph Valeriano (Southampton, N.J./Seneca) for his first career goal. Listed as a goalkeeper, Valeriano saw his first action in the field and led the team with five shots. At the end of regulation, both sides remained tie at 1-1 to force overtime. 

The overtime period didn't last long, as Matt Vogt of Wheeling Jesuit scored the game-winning goal with just over a minute taken off the clock. 

Junior goalkeeper Lucas Exner (Horstmar, Germany/Pascal-Gymnasium) registered three saves while playing all 91-plus minutes in the losing effort.

Cal U finishes its season-opening, three-game homestand on Sept. 10 when it hosts Notre Dame (Ohio) at 7 p.m.