SEASIDE, Calif. — On paper, the San Francisco State Gators men's soccer team vastly outplayed the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. Fortunately for the Otters, games are played on the field and the only numbers that matter are goals.
In a 2-1 victory for CSUMB (2-4-2, 1-2-0 CCAA), it was apparent that the unusually hot October weather was causing tempers to flare between them and the SFSU (5-2-2, 1-1-1 CCAA) on this Friday afternoon. San Francisco State came into the game trying to rattle Cal State Monterey Bay's nerves, which showed through the 20 fouls and five yellow cards that the Otters incurred.
The majority of the first half consisted of the Otters trying to survive the assault that the Gators were bringing towards the goal. Controlling the pace inside the Otter's goal box, the Gators outshot CSUMB 8-3 for the half; highlighted with shots off the right post by Max Talbert and Nick Harb. Two corner kicks by the Gators produced quality headed attempts by Talbert as well, with
Mattias Fernandez (Fresno CC) making strong saves on them.
Despite the pressure and the heavy foul total, the Otters were able to produce a goal in the 16th minute. Off of a broken play,
Jovani Delacruz (Hartnell College) lobbed a ball in the right side of the box to
Anthony Velazquez (Galivan College), who in return simply had to deke Colt Reichl to provide the Otters with the only goal of the first half.
The second half provided much more highlights for both teams. In the 58th minute, San Francisco State was able to return the game to level score when Andy Gomez caught the Otters with their head down, allowing Daniel Totays to strike from the center box. This strike appeared to have deflated the morale for the Otters, as three yellow cards were handed out over a three–minute span to
Pieter Reed (El Segundo HS),
Marco Rangel (San Benito HS), and
Jordan Moreno (American River JC).
Head coach
Rob Cummings (@RobCummings3) addressed the influx of yellow cards, saying "We aren't making excuses, we gotta fight through it. But it's either tell the guys don't play, don't work hard, or get penalized. I know we get penalized for our hard work, but by no means is it ever cheap. We don't teach
that. We are a blue collar team and we will continue to be that way."
A hero would appear for the Otters in the 66th minute. Unwilling to be taken off the ball,
Rudy Gonzales (Independence HS) had one thing on his mind while running towards the goal.
"I have to bring my team up, and we have to come out on top." Gonzales said. "This is a must win for us."
With his eye on the prize, Gonzalez burned past his defender, and chipped a fantastic goal into the net to put the Otters on top for good. The cherry was almost put on top when
Max Madrigal (Oxnard College) sent a shot flying just over the crossbar in the 87th minute.
The Otters look to keep the momentum going as they prepare to hit the road against Cal State East Bay on Sunday, October 5. The game will be at 11:30 AM in Hayward, CA. The Otters will retunr home on October 17th, against UC San Diego.
