RIVERSIDE, Calif. (August 29, 2024) - UC Riverside opened the home portion of 2024 on Thursday night at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium with a 2-1 loss to Utah Tech.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Carlos Gonzalez stood ready on his line in the fourth and fifth minutes with consecutive saves at the near post to kick off a rampant UCR start at both ends of the pitch.
• The near post came into play again, this time with Luka Lukic firing off a crisp ground ball into the corner of the net for the early lead in the 10th minute.  
• Lukas Juodkunaitis toed with the highlight tape on several occasions in the opening 45 minutes. The Lithuanian beat a defender on the left side in the attacking third and thew UCR's second shot on net in the 14th minute. Juodkunaitis then went for goal in the 20th minute with a bicycle kick before firing off a shot in the 35th that rocked the crossbar before going over the endline.  
• Utah Tech had the attacking fire out of halftime and needed only seven minutes to push a shot just inches wide of the right post.  
• Kevin Meza made an impact out of halftime with an attempt at the far corner in the 55th minute. Christian Ceja saw an opportunity with a loose ball and fired off a shot in the 59th minute before Utah Tech pushed a chip shot wide of the far post. Westley Hastings then joined the party in the 70th minute with another close call.  
• Jackson D'Alessandro proved to be a nuisance on the back line for UCR, showing off his speed with several shot-saving tackles.  
• UC Riverside continued to create chances in the final 15 minutes as consecutive corners ended in consecutive viable shots, but Utah Tech leveled it from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute before going ahead in the 83rd.  

NOTABLES 

• Lukic has now scored the Highlanders' first goal at home for the second consecutive season.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside will host Pacific on Sunday, September 1 at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Tournament First Round. Tickets are available now at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.edu.