COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - The Warner Pacific men's soccer team made a trip to Colorado for a pair of non-conference games to start the season, falling 4-2 to Johnson & Wales, and 1-0 to NAIA No. 14 Bellevue. 

VS JOHNSON & WALES
The Knights suffered through a rough first half of play, surrendering four goals in the opening 45 minutes on the way to a 4-2 loss at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. 

Jesus Mojardin scored a brace, while Christian Gallegos and Ivan Torres added goals to give the WIldcats a commanding lead. JWU outshot the Knights 10-0 in the period.

After halftime, WPC began to find their footing and gain control of the action. Cesar Esquivel got the team on the board with a shot from 6 yards out in the 66th minute. Mario Guizar added a goal by way of a free kick that struck the bar and crossed the line in the 71st miunte.

"We made some mistakes in our defensive third that allowed them easy chances," said coach Thoms. "Some first game nervousness crept in and we did not react well. The second half was a different story. We scored a couple and were searching for more. It was encouraging to see the guys respond to a difficult situtation."

VS BELLEVUE
Warner Pacific faced the NAIA's #14 ranked team in their second match of the week, ending on the short side of a 1-0 score after 90 minutes of play. 

Bellevue sent six shots toward the WP goal in the first half, but Knight keeper Joe White stood strong to keep the game scoreless. The Bruins opened the scoring for in the 48th minute, with Tobias Maertzke volleying home the top of the 18-yard box.

"We were up against a really strong team, but we stayed organized and really clogged the midfield ," said coach Thoms. "We did some things tactically to counter their size and physicality, and it was effective. We had some promising things going on the attack as well. We would have liked to get at least one result on the trip, but it was good for us to see where we are as a unit. We'll get back to work in training next week."