No. 11 UCLA 4, No. 3 Cal State Northridge 2
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -- In front of an overflow crowd at Matador Soccer Field, No. 3 Cal State Northridge was defeated by No. 11 UCLA 4-2 on Sunday night. Northridge suffered its first loss of the season after matching a program record with a seven-match win streak to open the year.
The Matadors were the aggressors for most of the match after surviving a UCLA (4-2-1) attack in the match's opening minutes. Northridge controlled possession throughout the night, but were unable to find the back of the net when opportunities arose.
In the first 16 minutes of play, CSUN forward Edwin Rivas had a pair of shots saved by UCLA goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. After a UCLA shot by Leo Stolz in the 23rd minute that sailed high of the goal, neither team registered an attempt for 12 minutes, when CSUN goalkeeper Adam Hobbs made a save on a try by Victor Chavez.
Things appeared to be moving toward a haltime tie, but the Bruins were awarded a penalty kick on a disputed call that also saw Trevor Morley being shown the yellow card. Stolz converted the penalty into the lower-right corner with a little more than a minute remaining in the half to give UCLA a 1-0 lead.
The Matadors turned up the pressure to start the second half, but it was the Bruins who found the net five minutes in to increase the margin to 2-0. After stealing the ball near the midfield line, Ryan Lee sent a cross from the left side that was flicked on by a header from Chavez. The headed ball looped over Hobbs, who came off his line to play the cross, and into the net.
UCLA nearly scored once more the next minute but Hobbs made a save to spring a counter-attack for the Matadors. Midfielder Chris Smith passed the ball up to Beto Velasquez on the left side, who sent a shot that deflected off a defender and into the net.
In the 74th minute, the Bruins increased their lead to two goals once more when Stolz gained possession after a scrum in the box and sent a hard shot at Hobbs. The goalkeeper got a palm to the ball and sent it straight down, but the spin allowed it to carry into the net.
The Bruins added another in the 85th minute when Felix Vobejda found Chavez with a ground pass in the box. Chavez sent a shot into the right corner for his second goal of the night.
The Matadors brought the scoreline closer two minutes later when Yarden Azulay scored his second of the year, but it would not be enough. David Turcios dribbled to the right corner of the field and crossed the ball to Azulay, who fired past Edwards for the goal.
Cal State Northridge finished with more shots (16-11) and more corner kicks (4-2), but were also whistled for more fouls (17-14) and shown more yellows (4-1).
No. 4 California 3, College of Charleston 1
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Three different Golden Bears scored and Stefano Bonomo earned the game-winning goal in No. 4 California’s 3-1 victory against the College of Charleston on Sunday on Goldman Field at Edwards Stadium. Cal remained unbeaten at 5-0-1, while the Cougars fell to 1-5-0.
“It was a great performance,” Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. “We started off gloriously, scoring three goals in the first 30 minutes and hit the post that would’ve made it 4-0, so no complaints at all about how the team started. It became a great game between the teams. They had a lot of experience players on the field, and it really was a great match, from the beginning till the end.”
For the second consecutive game, Cal took an early 1-0 lead, as senior defender Steve Birnbaum scored his team-high fifth goal of the year from close range at the 11:47 mark, with junior defender Christian Dean and junior forward Bonomo earning assists on the play. Unlike most of his goals this year, this was the first Birnbaum scored with his foot in the run of play.
“I was up there just because there was a corner kick before that,” Birnbaum said. “I was kind of in the right place at the right time.”
At 19:36, senior midfielder Alec Sundly sent a nice bending ball from midfield to Bonomo, who ran onto the ball and scored.
Omid Jalali scored the third just 27 seconds after he entered the match as a substitute at 27:07. The junior midfielder stole the ball from a Cougar, dribbled into the box and scored past goalkeeper Ryan McLaughlin.
“It was my very first touch on the ball,” Jalali said. “Right before I went in, I told my teammates, ‘I think I’m going to score.’ First touch stole the ball, started going and stroked it in. Right away I came to sideline, and I said, ‘Yeah!’ ”
Charleston pulled one back when Xavier Rajpaul scored his second -- and just his team’s second -- goal of the season at 30:35, with Tucker Coon and Troy Peterson assisting on the goal.
Cal took the 3-1 lead into halftime. Despite the score, the Bears had just an 8-7 edge in shots and a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes.
Cal sophomore goalie Justin Taillole made two saves for the game, while McLaughlin made five total.
No. 6 Washington 1, Georgia State 1
SEATTLE -- No. 6 Washington stayed unbeaten, earning a 1-1 draw with Georgia State on Sunday afternoon at the Husky Soccer Stadium. The Dawgs (5-0-2) scored first, but Georgia State (1-5-1) tied things up before the half and held on for the tie.
“It was the second game in three days and even though it was a 5-0 game, we worked hard on Friday,” Washington head coach Jamie Clark said. “We need to get used to it, though, because that is how Pac-12 play goes. I thought we were great in the first half until we scored and then were very poor. The second half was a lot of tired legs from both teams.”
The Dawgs were indeed the aggressor in the first half, outshooting Georgia State 8-1. The goal came off a corner kick in the 28th minute. James Moberg sent in a corner kick from the left wing that found the chest of Justin Schmidt. He played the ball to Josh Heard who one-timed the ball into an open net. It was the first goal of the season for Heard, while Moberg picked up his fifth assist and Schmidt his fourth.
Washington did not hold the lead for long as Georgia State tied it in the 33rd minute. Stephen McGill played a ball across the box and Amiri Abraham finished for the Panthers.
Both teams had opportunities in the second half, but neither would score a goal. The Dawgs had five corner kicks in the half, but were unable to convert. For the game, Washington had 12 corners to just two for Georgia State.
In overtime, Washington stepped up their sense of urgency with six shots, while not allowing any for their opponent. Darwin Jones nearly scored on a free kick as he drove a ball over the wall on target, but Georgia State keeper CJ Cochran made a spectacular save. Jones and Moberg also had late chances, but their shots were blocked by defenders and Washington had to settle for the tie.
Ryan Herman made one save in goal and is now 2-0-1 since taking over as the starter. For the game, Washington outshot Georgia State 20-8. The Dawgs forced CJ Cochran into six saves, including two apiece on Jones and Heard.
