In its previous two games, UCSD men’s soccer made key strides, exhibiting more teamwork and taking better care of the ball. However, the Tritons’ game on Oct. 3 was a bit of a step backward. The team lacked intensity and were stunned in a 3-1 loss to Chico State at Triton Soccer Stadium.
Getting ahead: UCSD forward Jon Krupansky fights with a Wildcat to head the ball. Chico State never lost the lead in their 3-1 win on Oct. 3.
The Chico State Wildcats went into the game ranked 25th nationally. They lead the California Collegiate Athletic Association North, and this is the first season ever that the Chico State men’s soccer team has enjoyed success.
“”We were heading into a steamroller. They are really on a roll this season,”” UCSD head coach Derek Armstrong said.
Chico State controlled the ball for the majority of the match, while UCSD never really got into a rhythm offensively and couldn’t manage to put together many serious scoring threats.
Off guard: UCSD senior defender Jonathan Shum fakes out Chico State¹s midfielder Michael Esser and steals the ball in the Tritons¹ 3-1 loss on Oct. 3
Chico State scored its first two goals within the opening 25 minutes of the game. The first score came at 16:15 when junior forward Chris Wondolowski took the ball down the right sideline, passed it to teammate Rusty Phillips who gathered the ball with his back to the goal, took his time to turn around, and placed the ball in the left corner of the net.
“”They got an early goal, and it really didn’t sit well with us,”” Armstrong said. “”I think we lost some of our confidence and couldn’t do much after that.””
The Wildcats added a second goal to their lead at the 23:13 mark. Off of a corner kick by Chico State senior midfielder Brett Williams, senior defender Jesse Grigg headed the ball into the left corner of the net.
After sitting on a 2-0 halftime lead, Phillips got his second goal of the game and fifth of the season in the game’s 77th minute. Freshmen midfielders Jason Phillips and Michael Esser set up Rusty Phillips in the right corner.
The Tritons got on the scoreboard three minutes later when junior forward Tiago Venturi placed a through-ball to teammate Grant Nishio. The sophomore forward earned a penalty kick after being tripped from behind by a Wildcat defender in the box. Nishio converted on the penalty kick to record his third goal of the season.
UCSD finally began to penetrate the Chico State goal several times in the last 20 minutes, but it couldn’t claw its way back into the game. Coming off an upset over then-ranked No. 2 CSU Dominguez Hills on Sept. 28, the Tritons lost some confidence in the 3-1 loss to the Wildcats.
“”Going from a high just a couple of days ago, it was disappointing,”” Armstrong said.
The loss dropped the Tritons to 5-3 in the CCAA and 6-3 overall. The Wildcats improved to 4-1-1 in conference play and 9-2-1 overall. They will probably move back up in the next national poll after falling from the 11th position to 25th with a 4-0 loss to Fresno Pacific on Sept. 26.
Two days after the Triton loss to Chico State, UCSD took on UC Davis, which was tied for the CCAA North division lead with the Wildcats heading into the weekend. The Aggies are ineligible for the CCAA Championship because Davis is in its final year of Division II membership before moving up to Division I. The results of the Oct. 5 game at Triton Soccer Stadium were unavailable at press time.
Next weekend, the Tritons will go on the road to face two CCAA Central opponents in CSU Stanislaus on Oct. 10 and CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 12. UCSD will return to Triton Soccer Stadium in two weeks to host Cal Poly Pomona and Chapman. a
