Site: San Diego, Calif.
Score: Point Loma 1, No. 25 Madonna 0
Records: MU 0-1, PLNU 1-0
Next MU Event: Aug. 27 at No. 10 Cal State San Marcos

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - - The No. 25-ranked Madonna Universit women's soccer team dropped its season opener Wednesday (Aug. 26) night 1-0 at Point Loma Nazarene.

The Crusaders (0-1) were held to just two shots on goal, both by senior forward Jessica Austin (Livonia, Mich.). Sophomore goalie Brittany Warner (Canton, Mich.) made six saves in the loss.

Neither side could find the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes and the match remained dead locked at 0-0 until the 73:45 mark when PLNU's Lindsay Bollar stole the ball from her mark, dribbled in on Warner down the left flank and let a shot go that eluded the Madonna net minder for the game's only tally.

The Crusaders' road swing through Southern California wraps up on Thursday (Aug. 27) night when the Royal Blue and Gold travel to No. 10 Cal State San Marcos in an 8pm (EDT) match.

POST MATCH QUOTES & NOTES
MU Head Coach Jen Barker - "We played well for the most part. We were caught off guard a bit as they really came at us in the second half. Tonight was good exposure to a different style of soccer and it was a learning experience. But it was a good showing for us."

NOTES
MU is now 3-5-4 all-time in season openers since the program's first season in 1998 ... Jen Barker becomes the third Crusader coach to open their MU career with a loss, joining Rick Larson (1998, 2-1 at Tiffin) and Mark Zathey (2001. 3-1 at Lindsay Wilson) ... Paul Thomas is the only Madonna coach to not open his career with a loss as Thomas tied Houghton 1-1 in 2006 ... The shutout is the first since Sept. 5, 2008 - when the Crusader were blanked 2-0 by NCAA Div. I Detroit - a span of 16 matches ... Thursday's match at Cal State San Marcos is the first ever meeting between the two sides ...