CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Shaun Spencer scored the lone goal for Slippery Rock University to secure a 1-0 road victory over Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opponent California (Pa.) Wednesday.
 
With the win SRU improves its record to 4-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference while the Vulcans move to 1-4-1 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC West. The win marks the fifth season since 1993 that The Rock claimed a 2-0 record to open conference play and its first time doing so since 2015.
 
Hossam Aly recorded two saves while allowing no goals over 90 minutes to record his second shutout victory of the season.
 
SRU was paced on offense by Spencer who tallied the only goal of the contest, marking his second consecutive game in which he has scored on a penalty kick. Arturo Pla Hernandis landed one of his three shots taken on goal while Alex Plimmer placed one shot on goal and Joe Skillicorn took one shot.
 
The opening half was controlled slightly more by the Vulcans as they recorded four shots to The Rock's two. However, only two of California's attempts were on goal, both of which were stopped by Aly, as SRU and Cal entered halftime scoreless.
 
The second half got off to a quick start with a corner for The Rock that Ramses Minaya sent into Pla Hernandis who landed a shot just wide of the goal.
 
Not long after, SRU was awarded a penalty kick that Spencer netted out of the reach of Vulcan goalkeeper AJ Visco, scoring what would be the game's only goal with 23 minutes left in the contest.
 
Following Spencer's score, the Slippery Rock defense took over and limited the Vulcans to just three shots, none of which were on goal, to seal the 1-0 victory.
 
For the game, Slippery Rock held advantages over California in shots on goal (3-2) while the Vulcans led in total shots (8-6) and corners (4-3).
 
Slippery Rock returns home for a PSAC West test against Gannon University 12 p.m. Saturday at James Egli Field.








To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).