BOX SCORE | PODCAST

BELMONT, Calif. — The banged up Dominican University of California men's soccer team struggled on the road in a 2-0 loss in Pacific West Conference play to Notre Dame De Namur University on Friday.

Armando Garcia scored for the Argonauts (4-1) in the eleventh minute and Arturo Gomez provided the insurance goal in the 63rd. Junior Rafael Garcia and freshman Todd Mata each placed two shots on the frame and junior Pedro Guevara had one, but the Penguins (0-8-1/0-5-0) couldn't convert any of their five shots on goal.

“I think our effort and work rate are sufficient,” Dominican Head Coach Jon Delano said. “Injuries have been a giant factor from Alec Ziegler to Ryan Vella to David Mendez.”

The senior captains Vella (toe) and Ziegler (calf) each played with injuries in the Penguins' second loss to the Argonauts this week, while Mendez saw significant minutes off the bench after missing the previous four games with a bad ankle.

“It's another tough loss to handle, but we're staying positive and focusing on getting wins,” Ziegler said, adding that he hopes to be back to full strength next week.

Delano's back line still aches, but his midfield took a step towards stability.

“It was nice to get David back,” Delano said. “It was a lift for all the players.”

The hard work hasn't been enough against a tough opening schedule consisting of four top 10 West Region opponents and four of the five top ranked PacWest teams.

The Penguins play one more game in California before departing for a five-game stretch in Hawaii.

Defensive midfielder Tim Pinella was sent off after a physical tackle midway through the second half and will miss the Penguins' next game on Thursday, Octoer 7 at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

“Tim's red card was unfortunate, but we will regroup and be prepared for AAU,” Delano said.