ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Dixie State women's soccer team fell to California Baptist, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon in the Pacific West Conference opener for both teams at Hansen Stadium.
 
CBU took advantage of two fouls inside the Dixie State defensive box – one handball and one aggressive slide tackle. The fouls led to penalty kicks, both cashed in by the Lancers who improved to 3-4 overall, 1-0 in conference.

The Red Storm fought hard in the second half to overcome the deficit, but fell short in finding an equalizer. The loss dropped DSU to 2-4-1 overall, 0-1 in the PacWest.
 
"This game was ours to win," head coach Kacey Bingham said. "It's disappointing to lose a game because the other team was awarded two PK's."
 
Dixie State outshot the Lancers 9-7, but the Lancers stalled multiple attempts from DSU to pass the ball into the attacking zone. DSU held a 6-4 shot advantage in the second half with the majority of shots coming late in an attempt to even up the match.
 
"I'm very proud of the way we played today and truly felt we deserved to come away with the win," Bingham added.  The only thing we needed to do better was put our shots on frame."
 
After falling behind 2-0, the Storm cut the CBU lead in half in the 80^th minute. Darian McCloy (Herriman, UT/Herriman) extended her leg well above her waist to blast a shot into the goal's top shelf.
 
Physical play over the final 10 minutes didn't afford many shot attempts. But, DSU had a final look on a free kick from Jasmine Arollo (Glendale, AZ/Apollo). Her shot in the final minute sailed high, essentially closing any opportunity for an equalizer.
 
Despite the loss, Bingham praised her club.
 
"It's a great performance to start the season and showed the ladies the level we are capable of playing at," she said.
 
Arollo paced the Storm with three shots for the match.
 
Dixie State hits the road for four consecutive matches in Hawaii. First up is BYU-Hawaii on Saturday, October 4 in Laie. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Hawaiian time.