Hornet’s junior forward Chimdum Mez was sent off with a red card in Sacramento State men’s soccer (1-1-2) draw in double overtime Thursday at Hornet Field.

Mez was red carded and sent off in the 95th minute after he slid and kicked the USF junior goalkeeper Chase Hauser.

Sac State men’s soccer head coach Mike Linenberger said that it was unfortunate for Mez’s ejection.

“If it happened anywhere else on the field it would have been a foul or yellow card,” Linenberger said. “It was not his intention to slide into the goalie and hit him in the face with his foot.”

However, it was not the first time that Mez was involved in an incident on Thursday. He was involved in a scuffle away from the eyes of the referee in the first half with Dons defender Irving Ventura-Rafaela as the two rolled around on the ground in the Dons own half of the field.

As the rules state, Mez will be suspended from Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s because a player who receives a red card must sit out at least one game.

The Hornets took the lead in the 22nd minute when senior forward Isaac Ikuyrav shot from 15 yards out into the top right corner of the net.

“I read my options as I was playing the ball, so I was able to cut inside and I struck the ball well,” Ikyurav said. “It was a great confidence boost in my ability to score.”

The Hornets physicality helped them take control of the game, however, in the 84th minute, the Dons got on the board with a goal of their own.

Linenberger said the Hornets were the better team in the first 85 minutes of the game and that they should have been up by a lot more than one goal.

“Because we didn’t put our chances away earlier in the game, the Dons were able to switch the momentum towards their favor,” Linenberger said.

Freshman defender Javier Munoz said even though the game seemed to be losing control, his team will not use that as a reason it ended in a tie.

“We like to make excuses at the end of the game, but we were not able to win the game,” Munoz said. “We can’t put the blame all on the refs today.”  

Sac State will play this Saturday at Saint Mary’s, the game time is at 4 p.m.

You can reach Clifton Jones at @JonesSHsports on Twitter.