RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside opened the home portion of its 2022 season on Sunday morning at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium with a 4-1 win over St. Thomas. 

UCR put four on the scoreboard for just the fourth time in the Tim Cupello head coaching era and first since 2017.

The Highlanders wasted no time in the attacking third with a trio of goals in the first 30 minutes of action. Aleksander Vukovic netted his first goal as a Highlander in the 11th minute on the assist from Leopoldo Hernandez and Noah Lopez. Vukovic's strike was the first shot of the match for either side. 

Issa Badawiya grew UCR's lead 13 minutes later and found the back of the net on Hernandez's second assist of the day. In the 28th minute, it was Badawiya and Lopez connecting this time for the Lopez goal to make it 3-0 at the break.

Through 30 minutes, a determined Highlander offense amassed three goals on five shots, yielding just one shot to the Tommies. It was the first time UCR had scored three in the first 45 minutes since 2016 in a 3-0 win over UC Irvine.

UC Riverside wasn't done putting the ball in the back of the net, as Christian Ceja Paniagua netted his first career Highlander goal in the 51st minute to close out the matinee.

UCR will head back to the East Coast for the second straight season, taking on Jacksonville on Friday, September 2 at 4:00 p.m. before traveling to Orlando for a match against Central Florida on Labor Day. Check the men's soccer schedule on GoHighlanders.com for option on how to tune into the matches.