PASADENA, Calif. - The men's squad began conference play today in Pasadena, CA as they took on Providence Christian College.
The boys are coming off a 1-3 preseason record that saw them defeat longtime rival Oregon Tech.
The Red Hawks came out firing in the first half as they outshot the Sea Beggars 8-3.
Simpson drew first blood in the 19th minute as
Gilberto Ceja picked up his first goal of the year off a corner kick by
Anthony Hernandez.
But the Red Hawks added two more insurance goals at the end of the half as
Jesus Rodriguez picked up his team-leading third goal of the year in the 36th minute and Alex Zimmerman picked up his first goal of the year in the 41st minute off a pass from
Sergio Garibay.
The Red Hawks went into the half with a commanding 3-0 lead.
But the Sea Beggars did not go quietly as they found the back of the net in the 57th minute to cut the Simpson lead to two.
With the clock winding down the Sea Beggars rallied late and pulled within one in the 87th minute and scored the equalizer in the remaining seconds of the game.
The Red Hawks could not scratch a goal in the second half and settled with a draw to open conference play.
Simpson got a trio of goals, one each by
Gilberto Ceja,
Jesus Rodriguez, and Alex Zimmerman.
Goalkeeper
Eric Canela picked up the tie in the post to begin conference play as he notched three saves on the day.
Simpson looks to take on Westcliff University on Sunday at 2 pm to round out its SoCal road trip.