The men’s soccer team suffered a nail-biting 1-0 loss at home on Tuesday against the Santa Rosa Bear Cubs.

The match’s only goal came just 10 minutes in, delivered by Bear Cubs midfielder Edgar Nunez with a strike from outside the penalty box.

“I think we started the game very timid and kind of hiding,” said Hawks sophomore forward Aidan Vangelatos. “But once we started to pick it up a little bit, it just so happens it was after the goal, we had more space and time on the ball. They couldn’t touch us once we figured that out, but it needed to start like that.”

Despite allowing the early goal, along with a yellow card in the 17th minute, the Hawks controlled the remainder of the first half with six shots on goal to the Bear Cub’s three.

Their best chance to score came in the 24th minute when the Hawks were awarded a penalty kick, but sophomore forward Diego Angelino’s shot up the middle was saved.

“We probably should have had three goals in the first half,” said head coach Ron Preble. “Unfortunately, when we miss good opportunities, especially a PK, that hurts, and it’s hard to recover.”

Preble said he thought it wasn’t until the second half when the team really started adjusting to their opponent’s playstyle of focusing around the center of the field.

“I think our players got a little frustrated at first,” Preble said. “There haven’t been too many teams who have played midblock, so it was a new experience for them.”

The Hawks controlled the ball for a majority of the final 20 minutes, with the Bear Cubs deploying a stalling strategy the few times they had possession in order to preserve their tight lead.

This would eventually lead to the Bear Cubs being given a yellow card in the 90th minute of the match when the referee deemed it excessive.

The Hawks were given a final chance in the last moments of the game after being awarded an indirect free kick inside the penalty box, though Bear Cubs defenders were able to form a wall and ultimately block the shot.

“I think what mainly we need to improve on is not really what we’re doing on the field, but just in our heads,” said sophomore defender Aydin Alickovic. “We can’t start slow. We’ve been starting slow these past couple of games and I think on Friday we just need to start off on the right foot and go from there.”

The Hawks are 8-3-3 on the season after defeating San Joaquin Delta College on Friday in Stockton and will play Clovis at home on Tuesday.