The Master’s University Mustangs men’s soccer team’s defense was under heavy pressure in its match on Thursday at Vanguard.

The host Lions pounded away at the Mustangs from late afternoon into early evening, posting a jaw-dropping 27 shots, 12 of those on goal.

Mustang goalie Price Anderson, who made a career-high 11 saves, and his teammates held on for only so long.

Something eventually had to give and it did in the match’s 86th minute when Vanguard’s Andrew Robles beat Anderson with a shot into the right side of the net that proved to be the game-winner in a 1-0 victory in the GSAC opener for both clubs.

“Vanguard plays very direct soccer, and it was harder to deal with than we had hoped,” said TMU head coach Jim Rickard. “They put us under a lot of pressure, and we held up until late in the game.”

The loss snapped the Mustangs’ men’s soccer team’s four-game winning streak. The Mustang men are 5-4-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Anderson was up to the task in the first half and well into the second stanza. The Mustangs managed nine shots, two of those on goal.

The club’s leading scorer, Dylan Bielanski, put a shot on goal at the 18:03 mark of the opening half, but Lion goalie Victor Negrete made the save.

Negrete preserved the victory when he saved a shot by Mustang Luis Garcia Sosa with 1:05 left to play.

Here’s the box score.

The Mustangs soccer players will have to wait a week now to get a chance to rebound from the loss.

They’ll return to Reese Field on Thursday, October 10 to host a match against William Jessup.

“We’re disappointed to be 0-1 in conference,” said Rickard, “but it’s behind us now and we need to look ahead.”