San Rafael, CALIF. -- Dominican University of California men's soccer (12-5-0, 8-1-0) earned a win over Concordia University of Irvine (6-9-2, 5-3-1) to claim a share of the PacWest Championship with aspirations to become the sole proprietor of the title on Saturday in its season finale against Point Loma. 

The two squads were fighting for more than just a single win as Dominican had aspirations of becoming nothing less than a co-conference champion while CUI looked to move up the leader board with a win that would put it within reach of forcing a 3-way tie for the title. Senior keeper Alejandro Reyes welcomed the foe in the 21st minute with save on a ball that was targeting the bottom right corner of the frame, keeping the game even. Dominican broke the deadlock just two minutes later when sophomore Diego Grande found himself halfway into the box to the left of the keeper, later sending a ball past a stunned Andre Flores who could do nothing but stand stiff and watch the bullet find the twine to give the Penguins a 1-0 advantage. Reyes came up big for his squad again in the waning moments of the opening frame with save on another ball that was sent towards the bottom right of the frame as he and his team walked into halftime with a 1-0 advantage. 

Perhaps the biggest moment of Dominican's season came just 80 seconds into the second half when Dominican was called on a foul inside its own box thus giving CUI a penalty kick. While the Golden Eagles celebrated, Reyes stood calm, cool and collected on his strip while he awaited the kick. When the kick came, Reyes lunged to his left and corralled the ball into his midsection, making a remarkable save while also denying any chance at a rebound — a goalkeepers dream. Dominican returned to the attack last 10 minutes later when sophomore Lex Bernier was stymied on a shot that was saved by a diving Flores, keeping the game even. 

Dominican had goals taken off the board twice over the ensuing 20 minutes, the first being removed after a deflection came from a handball while the later was taken away on an offside call. The Golden Eagles returned the favor with their own pair of close calls as they sent two balls off the right woodwork within a two minutes span, further proving that no ball was meant to get past Reyes on Thursday afternoon. The final opportunity came for Dominican in the 88th minute when Bernier was stopped by Flores on a point-blank shot, but to the relief of Bernier, Dominican was still able to walk off the pitch with a 1-0 victory and at least a share of the PacWest Conference Title.