Cougar men's soccer got back in the wins column on Friday, cruising to a 4-1 victory over Soka University of America.

CSUSM is now 4-5-1 on the year.

The Cougars got off to a slow start against their winless opponent, failing to generate any legitimate scoring chances in the early game.  But CSUSM woke up about halfway through the first half, tallying three goals to put the game out of reach by halftime.  They got some help with the first one, as a scramble in front of the Soka net resulted in an own goal in the 22nd minute.  Ten minutes later, Dan Sims, playing outside midfield for the first time this season, slid a pass to the box, where defender Jordan Shadeed punched it in for the first goal of his Cougar career.  Finally in the 45th minute, Greg Reese made a nice run through the middle of the defense, connecting with Sims, who launched a shot from the top of the box that beat the keeper easily.

CSUSM carried that momentum through to the second half.  Just five minutes into the period, Shadeed hit a hard pass that Brandon Zuniga touched to Miguel Jacobo, who absolutely crushed a shot from 30 yards out into the side netting.  Soka would get a 90th-minute goal on a penalty kick, ending Cougar keeper Kane Leonard's bid for a shutout in his first career start.  CSUSM settled for the 4-1 win, which could have been much worse if it wasn't for brilliant play by the Soka keepers.

The Cougars will look to even their record on Sunday at home against La Sierra.