Sac State men’s soccer falls to Gauchos in overtime
Matthew Nobert - The State Hornet
Sacramento State sophomore midfielder Christian Webb fights off UC Santa Barbara freshman defender Adrian Adames Oct. 18 at Hornet Field. Sac State will play CSUN Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Matador Soccer Field in Los Angeles, California.
The Sacramento State men’s soccer team entered Wednesday against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos with a chance to tie with them in the Big West Conference North division standings but fell short with a 2-1 overtime loss.
Both the Hornets (7-7-1, 3-3-1 Big West) and the Gauchos (6-5-4, 4-1-2 Big West) started strong on defense, as each team had possessions in the other’s territory that yielded no goals scored.
With goals coming at a premium, the Gauchos were gifted an opportunity to break the tie after a Sac State hand ball gave them a penalty kick from 10 yards out during the 19th minute. UCSB freshman forward Rodney Michael found the back of the net and a 1-0 lead, as he fired the ball left, and Hornets senior goalkeeper James Del Curto dove right.
Sac State eventually drove the ball down into the Gauchos’ side of the field looking for an equalizer. After a shot by junior forward Brad Bumgarner was blocked, the Hornets were presented with a gift of their own just as a UCSB defender headed the ball away from the goal, it landed at the feet of junior midfielder Dominic Scotti.
“I was just kinda sitting there, and it just fell in my lap,” Scotti said after he kicked the game-tying shot in the 25th minute.
Sacramento State freshman midfielder Omar Jiron leaps for the header against University of California Santa Barbara sophomore defender Mateo Restrepo Mejia Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Hornet Field. Sac State lost the game 2-1 in overtime.
Nearly 12 minutes later, the Hornets again found themselves in scoring position as a corner kick by freshman midfielder RJ Moorhouse was followed by a shot from fellow freshman midfielder Omar Jiron. However, the Gauchos’ defense was able to tighten up and prevent the Hornets from going into halftime with a lead.
The second half featured both teams creating scoring opportunities, but neither could capitalize, as shots sailed high and wide from the Hornets and Gauchos.
In the 86th minute, Sac State looked like it had found a victory after senior forward Trevor Jackson fired a ball into the UCSB net. However, Jackson was ruled offside, and the point was nullified, which sent the two teams into overtime.
@SacStMSoccer takes a 2-1 loss against UCSB in Golden goal time @TheStateHornet pic.twitter.com/pATGlBDNHk
— Matthew Nobert (@mnobert2020) October 19, 2017
“We have good build-up play at times, (and we) create chances, but either the finish isn’t good enough, or the final pass or the cross or the cutback has let us down the majority of the year,” said Sac State coach Michael Linenberger referring to his team’s inability to make game-winning plays late in games.
Any hopes of pulling out a win were dashed four minutes into the extra period, as a UCSB sophomore forward passed the ball to Michael for his second and final goal of the game.
“They played a good combination, and the guy had one hell of a finish,” said Paul Geyer, the Hornets senior midfielder.
Sac State will host Cal Poly (6-8-1, 2-4-1 Big West) for a chance to clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament playoffs on senior day at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hornet Field.
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