NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The No. 2 ranked Arizona Western College Matadors men's soccer team opened the season with a 2-1 win over the Casper College Thunderbirds on Thursday night at Cheyenne Sports Complex in North Las Vegas thanks to an 89th-minute goal from Ernie Garza.

Shoki Yoshida almost opened the Matadors' account in the 10th minute, sending a free kick to the far post that was knocked away to keep the game scores.

The Matadors controlled most of the possession in the first half, but Casper has the best chance before Atsuki Sato kept Casper off the board, deflecting a shot away in a one-on-one opportunity in the 26th minute before the lights went out, causing a short delay.

The Matadors scored the first goal of the game in the 63rd minute when Peter Yaro took a quick free kick and slotted the ball past a confused Casper keeper to give the Matadors a 1-0 lead.

Casper would turn up the pressure for the first time all night, creating numerous chances in the last 20 minutes, requiring three big saves from goalkeeper Martin Sanchez to keep the Thunderbirds off the board until the 88th minute when Casper knotted the score thanks to a loose ball in the box.

Less than a minute later, the Matadors took the lead back for good thanks to a Logan Allard cross which was put past the keeper thanks to Garza, securing a 2-1 win for the Matadors.

The Matadors are back in action tomorrow, Friday evening when they take on College of Southern Nevada at 6:30 pm.