On Monday evening, the University of Redlands men's soccer team recorded its fifth-straight victory, downing the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University, 1-0.  The win moves the Bulldogs into first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings, just one point ahead of both Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

The result marks the sixth-straight triumph for Redlands over Cal Lutheran, dating back to September 29, 2010.

Despite being outshot by the Kingsmen in the first half, 10-7, the Bulldogs headed into the halftime break with the one-goal advantage.  The score came in the 40th minute when freshman forward AJ VanderStaay (Bellingham, WA) slipped behind the Cal Lutheran defense and ran onto a through-ball.  His initial shot was blocked by the Cal Lutheran goalkeeper, but on the rebound, VanderStaay back-heeled the ball into the back of the net.  The goal was the third of his rookie campaign with the Maroon and Gray.

Looking to add to its one-goal lead after halftime, Redlands pushed the tempo of the match early and almost doubled its lead when sophomore forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) ripped a 30-yard shot off the crossbar.  Not long after, senior forward Alex Laughton (Pleasanton, CA) had a one-v-one opportunity with the Cal Lutheran goalkeeper, but his shot was narrowly saved.

The Kingsmen came close to tying the contest in the second stanza when Kyle Fleming nearly performed a successful bicycle-kick, but watched as his acrobatic shot just sailed over the crossbar.

The Bulldogs clung to their one-goal lead and performed admirably in the defensive end of the field to preserve the shutout.  Junior goalkeeper Andreas Silva (San Jose, CA) came up with numerous big-time saves, including one late in the match that looked to be headed for the bottom-left corner of the net.  On the night, he tallied five saves while picking up his ninth win and sixth shutout of the season.

The Maroon and Gray (9-4-3, 8-2-2) have one day off before its SCIAC showdown with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday evening.  Kickoff in Claremont is scheduled for 7 p.m.