Nelson Men's Soccer Records Historic First Victory

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Soccer team (1-5-3) celebrated a historic milestone, securing the program's first-ever victory in the club's inaugural season, with a dominant 5-0 shutout over the Nobel University Knights at Christ Church of the Valley in Peoria, AZ.

The Warriors exploded off the kick off, overwhelming the Knights with an offensive onslaught that saw all five goals poured in during a blistering first half. Just 1:10 into the match, Joemar Valenzuela opened the floodgates with a clinical finish assisted by Pablo Pulido, handing Nelson the early a 1-0 lead. Fortunately for the Warriors, Valenzuela was only warming up, as he doubled his team's advantage just five minutes later on a setup from Adrian Almanza to make it 2-0.

The momentum built when Damian Yanez joined the party, blasting an unassisted rocket in the 21st minute for a 3-0 cushion, Nelson's largest lead all season. Yanez struck again at 30:32, this time off a pinpoint assist from Parker Linhart, pushing the score to 4-0. Valenzuela capped his historic hat-trick heroics in the 40^th minute, converting a feed from Joel Bastida to send the Warriors into halftime with an insurmountable 5-0 lead, while leaving the Knights reeling.

Nelson's defense matched the attack's intensity, stifling Nobel throughout the bout. The Warriors allowed just one shot on goal in the first half and six in the second, with goalkeeper Jason Lugo Munoz standing tall to save them all, securing the program's first shutout and preserving the clean sheet.

The victory has ignited excitement among fans as the Warriors enter the second half of the season, and hoping to build momentum off of their first-ever victory in their debut season.

The Nelson Warriors will try to do just that when they take on the Justice Lions at 7pm at the Reach 11 Sports Complex located on 2425 E. Deer Valley Rd., in Phoenix.

Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.