Columbia, SC - Johnson & Wales Men's Soccer took the field for an official game for the first time in 653 days Tuesday night as they opened the 2021 season against NAIA foe Columbia International. The Wildcats fell 3-0 to the Rams behind three first period tallies for the hosts.

CIU (1-0) struck just 3 minutes into the match when Sonny Quintinilla found the back of the net off a series of passes from Bryan Molina and Juliano Maglio. The game settled in for the next half an hour before CIU scored twice in the closing minutes of the first half. The goals came from Rafael Carneiro and Praise Kabwe. 

JWU (0-1) showed better in the second half, keeping the Rams off of the scoresheet, and showing more fluidity on the attacking side themselves. Evan Retzlaff put a ball on frame, but was unlucky in that it went directly at Ram goalkeeper Hazel Ley.

The Wildcats are next in action on Saturday as they hit the road once again to take on Montreat College at 6:00pm.