The 19^th-ranked Chico State men's soccer team absorbed its first loss of the season Thursday, falling to Point Loma 2–1 in the Wildcats' 2017 home opener.
 
The Sea Lions scored late in the first half, and with the Wildcats pressing for the tying goal, stretched the lead to 2–0 on a counter attack in the 82^nd minute.
 
Fabian Roman got the Wildcats on the board in the 86^th minute, assisted by Eruvey Arceta, but they could not find the equalizer in falling to 2-1-0 on the season. Arceta set things up with a wicked strike from 30 yards. It was deflected by the Sea Lions' goalkeeper, but fell to Roman, who stuck it in the back of the net inside the near post.
 
The Wildcats outshot the visitors 11-8 and enjoyed a 6-5 edge in corner kicks. But they struggled with their service throughout the night, missing out on a number of promising scoring opportunities.

 
Point Loma (1-2) got on the board with just 56 seconds remaining in the first half on a penalty kick, whistled when a Chico State player handled a cross in the box. Tim Siegfried hit the penalty low and inside the left post for a 1–0 lead.
 
The Sea Lions doubled their lead on a counter-attack late in the match. Finn Tiedemann put Indiana Fuller in behind the defense with a long pass and Fuller found the back of the net inside the near post.
 
Chico State is back in action Saturday night in a top-25 matchup with #23 California Baptist, which drew at Sonoma State Thursday and will come to Chico with a record of 2-0-1.