After an early goal off the left boot of Miles Rice, the Wildcats were able to fend off the Falcons to earn their first regular season win on home turf. The pieces are starting to fall in place for the Wildcats as they kept the Falcons from being too dangerous in front of the home side's net. 

Rice set the tone early as he snuck in a low-fired shot from his left foot in the 6th minute after plucking the ball from a startled Falcon defender. The early lead tasked the Wildcats with holding off until the final whistle, but the back line, led by Junior goalkeeper Emanuel Padilla, held SPU back from being too threatening.

The Wildcats continued their advance throughout the second half, outshooting the visitors 12-7. Two of those chances connected with the left side post and the crossbar, missing by the smallest of margins.

As the game ticked away, the visiting Falcons started to find their own rhythm, pushing the ball to their threatening wingers. However, Rice called the game in the 89th minute when he collected a booted ball from Padilla, chipping the stunned Falcons keeper, and it was the early goalscorer doubling the lead with mere seconds to go. 

The Cameron Park native opens up his account early into the season this year, looking to becoming the leader goal-scorer for the Wildcats for the second year in the row—scoring 6 in his last campaign with Chico State.

A quick turnaround for the Wildcats as they'll face off against another strong GNAC opponent, Western Washington, this Saturday at University Soccer Stadium in Chico. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. and broadcast through the CCAA Network.