CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The West Liberty University men's soccer team closed out its non-conference schedule here Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to California (Pa.) at the Philipsburg Soccer Complex.
    Coach Sean Regan's Hilltoppers (4-8-0) found themselves in an early hole after the host Vulcans (2-7-2) got a goal from Evan Blunkosky a little more than two minutes after the opening kickoff.
    Despite being outshot by a considerable margin, California carried that 1-0 margin into the second half before West Liberty finally broke through.
    Daniel Rovira ripped an equalizing blast through traffic into the top right corner off an assist from Vitor Otsuka to knot the score at 1-1 in the 57th minute but the Hilltoppers couldn't hang on.
    A hustling Blunkosky delivered the game-winning score for the Vulcans, sliding into the box to knock it past the WLU keeper in the 68th minute.
    West Liberty outshot the hosts by a whopping 13-5 margin but put only three of those 13 shots on frame. The Hilltoppers were also whistled for 17 fouls against 9 for the Vulcans.
    The road doesn't get any easier for the Black and Gold. Next up is a Sunday night trip to unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Davis & Elkins. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Elkins.
  West Liberty          0  1 – 1
California (Pa.)      1  1 – 2        CUP: Evan Blunkosky (Kobe Norfleet, Diego Rodriguez), 2:15        WLU: Daniel Rovira (Vitot Otsuka), 56:15
       CUP: Evan Blunkosky (Kobe Norfleet), 67:30        Shots: West Liberty 13, California (Pa.) 5
       Shots on Goal: West Liberty 3, California (Pa.) 3
       Saves: West Liberty 1 (Noah Underwood 1), California (Pa.) 2 (Jacob Campbell 2)
       Corners: West Liberty 6, California (Pa.) 5
A: 85