Saint Mary’s vs. Santa Clara
#24 Santa Clara leapt into sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference with a 1-0 win over Saint Mary’s on Wednesday afternoon.
Joshua Dabora scored the only goal of the match for the Broncos in the 59th minute. Javier Ruiz Duran trapped the ball with his left foot and nudged a pass to Dabora in between two Gaels’ defenders. Dabora trapped the ball with his right foot and chipped it with his left, past goalkeeper Nicholas Lapinid and into the far corner of the net.
The Broncos not only earned a crucial road victory, but also survived the loss of their primary goalkeeper, Andreu Cases Mundet, early in the match. Cases Mundet sustained a hard fall on his left side backtracking quickly on a shot from 35 yards out by David Brog. He stayed in the match long enough to make another diving stop on another shot by Brog in the 16th minute. The opportunity was set up on a feed from Cade Cowan, after Broncos’ defender Damani Osei had committed the turnover.
Former USF goalkeeper Ruben Stuiver replaced Cases Mundet and faced his biggest test a few minutes before halftime. The Gaels’ Cade Cowan drew a foul just inches outside the penalty area, after a collision with Julian Bravo, who was yellow carded on the play. Saint Mary’s players and coaches argued for a penalty kick and the Gaels’ bench was also issued a yellow card. Boyd Curry’s free kick forced Stuiver to fully extend himself to make the diving save, redirecting the ball enough so that it caromed off the left goal post and could be cleared out of the zone by a Bronco defender.
#24 Santa Clara (10-1-3, 4-0-1)
On Saturday night, Broncos fell behind early, but roared back to earn a 4-1 victory at Gonzaga (7-8-0, 2-3-0) thanks to a 5-point night from Javier Ruiz Duran.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the 7th minute. Devin Slingsby started his run from the midfield circle and dumped the ball off to Demitrius Kigeya whose low, hard shot from 20 yards out tucked in between goalkeeper Ruben Stuiver and the left post.
Oladayo Thomas equalized in the 26th minute. The Bulldogs’ Angelo Calfo was poised to intercept Alejandro Barajas’s through ball, but lost his footing. Joshua Dabora grabbed the ball at the top of the penalty area and quickly fired. Goalkeeper Johan Garibay made the kick save, but Thomas tapped home the rebound at the goal line.
Ruiz Duran scored the game winner in the 61st minute. Tyrone Kirunda made a run along the left side that drew 4 Bulldog defenders and found Ruiz Duran who scored with a left-footed shot from the left boundary of the 6-yard box.
The Broncos scored twice in the final 5 minutes to put the match away. Ruiz Duran earned a brace in the 86th minute when he dodged a tackle by Sebastian Karlhom and chipped the ball over Garibay’s head. Dylan Bartlett earned the assist.
In the 88th minute, Ruiz Duran stole the ball and crossed it to Eduardo Lopez Perez, whose shot went under a sliding Garibay.
The Broncos can clinch the West Coast Conference championship with a home win over Portland next Saturday.
Saint Mary’s (9-6-1, 2-2-1)
The Gaels ventured to Southern California on Saturday night and lost to Loyola Marymount (11-4-1, 3-2-0) by a score of 2-0.
Dylan Shockey opened the scoring in the 32nd minute after the Lions earned a corner kick. Gaels’ goalkeeper Nicholas Lapinid punched the ball away, but Shockey grabbed the rebound on the right side of the penalty area and blasted a shot across the goalmouth that eluded a diving Lapinid.
The Lions’ insurance goal in the 66th minute was set up by a corner kick from Bastien Oberli. Nick Dauchot headed the ball to Steven Anderson who headed it into the net.
Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson made 4 saves in earning the clean sheet. He faced his biggest test in the 82nd minute, when Jack Vestberg was fouled, setting up a free kick for Sebastian Schacht. Boyd Curry’s header was on target, but Jackson dove to his right to make a spectacular stop.
Stanford (5-6-5, 2-4-3)
Cardinal Fall to Beavers in Tight Defensive Struggle
#3 Oregon State beat Stanford 1-0 on Thursday evening, in a match where chances were few and far between.
Tyrone Mondi scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute. Mouhameth Thiam made a run deep into the right side of the penalty area and laid the ball off for Mondi, who took a right-footed shot in stride that tucked inside the far post.
Beavers’ goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez made 4 saves, including shots by Zach Ryan in the 52nd minute and Aiden Weaver in the 73rd. Stanford goalkeeper Matt Frank made only 1 save, but it was a difficult one. Thiam’s free kick from the left of the penalty area in the 26th minute was on target at the near post, but Frank was able to reach up with both hands and deflect it away.
The Cardinal’s best chance came on a free kick with 35 seconds remaining in regulation. The ball bounced around the crowded penalty area and rebounded to Keegan Hughes, who stuck out his right foot to quickly redirect the ball from just outside the 6-yard box. Fernandez went to ground quickly and his outstretched hands redirected the ball to safety.
No Goals in Cardinal’s Showdown with Washington
The Cardinal’s match with #2 Washington (12-1-1, 4-1-1) ended in a scoreless draw on Sunday afternoon. The match was an intense defensive struggle in which both goalkeepers were only called upon to make 1 save in 110 minutes of action.
Stanford’s Matt Frank stopped a shot in the 35th minute from Lucas Meek, off of a low cross from the left side by Dylan Teves.
But the Cardinal defense was also called upon to thwart other potential threats. Noah Adnan made a sliding tackle to prevent Teves from getting a shot off from close range in the 78th minute. In the 98th minute, a through ball found Meek in the penalty area, but Frank put his body on the line and scooped up the ball as Meek tumbled to the turf.
Washington’s goalkeeper Sam Fowler made his only save of the match in the 56th minute. Ousseni Bouda took on two defenders to get to the midfield circle and laid the ball off for Carlo Agostinelli, who made a long run along the right side to the edge of the penalty area. Fowler went to the ground to get in the way of Agostinelli’s low, hard blast and defender Ryan Sailor was there to clear away the rebound.
The Cardinal also had a good chance in the 35th minute, when Ryan Dunn sent a cross into a crowd of players in the box. Adnan had an open look, but his header sailed wide left.
Cal (3-9-2, 1-6-0)
Thursday night’s match between Cal and #2 Washington was ruled a no contest at 60:18 in the second half. The field was unplayable after heavy rainstorms in the Seattle area.
Washington’s Gio Miglietti scored in the 7th minute and Dylan Penn equalized for Cal in the 36th minute, but both goals are nullified because NCAA rules state that any match abandoned before the 70 minute mark does not count.
Oregon State Overwhelms Bears
The Bears lost to #3 Oregon State (11-1-2, 6-0-1) by a score of 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Beavers mounted several threats in the early stages of the match. In the 13th minute, goalkeeper Collin Travasos knocked away a shot by Mouhameth Thiam. One minute later, Tyrone Mondi took a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar; Thiam grabbed the rebound, but his shot was blocked.
Thiam broke through in the 30th minute, as Carlos Moliner made a run along the right edge of the penalty area and sent in a short cross. Thiam deflected the ball into the net as he and Travasos collided.
The Beavers added another in the 49th minute, on a great individual effort from Tsiki Ntsabeleng, who received a pass at the right corner of the penalty area, dribbled to the edge of the penalty circle, and released a left-footed blast that squeezed past several Cal defenders as well as a diving Travasos.
Oregon State goalkeeper Adrian Fernandez made 4 saves in keeping a clean sheet. His biggest challenge came in the 68th minute, when Nate Carrasco was fouled in the box. Fernandez dove to his right and smothered the ensuing penalty kick from Jonathan Estrada. Fernandez also saved Nate Carrasco’s 88th minute free kick to preserve the shutout.
USF (2-10-1, 0-4-1)
Pacific Overwhelms Dons in Offensive Explosion
Pacific (7-5-1, 2-1-1) scored twice late in the first half and never looked back in their 5-1 rout of visiting USF on Wednesday night.
The Tigers got on the board first in the 37th minute on a shot by Erik Centeno from the right of the penalty area that skidded along the ground, deflected off of the far post, and made its way over the goal line.
The Tigers added another on the counterattack less than 3 minutes later. Goalkeeper Eric Cotton sent a long pass out of the back that was deflected to Yazid Omri at midfield. Omri made his run to the edge of the penalty area, then dished the ball off to Ryan Her on the breakaway. Goalkeeper Brandon Keniston couldn’t get a hand on Her’s lethal left-footed finish.
Centeno earned a brace in the 57th minute, when the USF defense was slow to respond on the counterattack. Samuel Villalta stole the ball in the Tigers’ half, dribbled the ball over midfield, and laid the ball off to Centeno, who fired a left-footed shot from the right side that settled just inside the far post.
The Dons bounced back in the 62nd minute, when Tobias Wangerud sent in a cross from the right corner and Nathan Simeon was waiting at the far post to nod it in.
The Tigers closed out the match with two late goals. In the 69th minute, a through ball from Mathias Saether found Centeno with room to run. Centeno dribbled into the penalty area, cut back toward the middle, and dished the ball off to Cooper Riley who chipped it over Keniston’s head.
Less than 1 minute later, Mamoru Kamisasanuki received a pass near midfield, played a give-and-go with Saether, cut back to the left and back to the right, and took a right-footed shot from the edge of the 6-yard box that beat Keniston at the near post.
Dons Grab Early Lead But Fall to San Diego
San Diego (2-13, 1-4) won the battle of the bottom two teams in the West Coast Conference standings with a 2-1 win over visiting USF on Sunday afternoon.
Things were looking up for the Dons after Nathan Simeon scored in the 15th minute. Nonso Adimabua received a pass just outside of the penalty area, as four Torrero defenders converged upon him. Adimabua turned around and laid the ball of to Simeon, whose shot from 20 yards out made its way through a crowd of players from both teams and beat goalkeeper Berk Watson at the far post.
Ross Johnstone evened up the match for the Torreros in the 42nd minute. Nicklas Clausen grabbed a loose ball just outside the penalty area. A group of USF defenders converged upon him, so he spun around and passed the ball to Owen Wiebe on the weak side. Johnstone timed his run to beat USF’s offside trap and headed home Wiebe’s cross over the head of USF goalkeeper Brandon Keniston.
Clausen earned a second assist on Dylan Thompson’s game-winner in the 61st minute. A Don and a Torrero collided in the midfield and the ball went high in the air. Clausen headed the ball into the path of Thompson, who hit a one-timer with his left foot that Keniston swatted at, but couldn’t reach.
San José State (9-5-3, 7-1-2)
Plenty of Shots But No Goals for the Spartans and Cougars
The Spartans’ first-ever meeting with Western Athletic Conference foe Chicago State (2-11-3, 0-7-2) ended in a scoreless draw on Friday night, despite the two teams combining for 38 shots in 110 minutes of play.
Cougars’ goalkeeper Joe Bowles recorded 9 saves, while the Spartans’ David Sweeney made 4, including 2 shots by Toluwalase Oladeinbo and one each from Calwayne Allen and Enrique Zamora. Willy Miranda led the Spartans with 3 shots on goal.
Both clubs had chances to break the deadlock late in regulation time. In the 82nd minute, the Cougars’ Allen received a pass just outside the penalty area, cut back, and found enough space to get off a shot, but it was an easy save for Sweeney. In the 86th minute, Bowles made a diving save on a shot by the Spartans’ Omar Lemus.
Spartans Win Seesaw Battle with Houston Baptist
San José State fell behind twice, but roared back to earn a 3-2 home victory over Houston Baptist on Sunday afternoon. The win extends their 9 game unbeaten streak that spans the entire month of October.
The Huskies opened the scoring at the 13 minute mark, when Bryant Farkarlun tallied his fifth goal of the season, on an assist by Abu Kamara. San José State responded less than 3 minutes later on a corner kick. Max Allen took the short corner and gave the ball to Rudi Castro, whose cross set up Kasper Poulsgaard to head the ball home.
A similar situation occurred late in the first half. The Huskies’ Sebastian Cochrane scored his third of the season in the 40th minute and the Spartans responded less than 3 minutes later. Miguel Bermudez sent in a ball from 25 yards out and near the left touchline that initially appeared to be a cross but ended up in the back of the net.
The game winner came in the 63rd minute, when a Huskies defender booted the ball up in the air. Rudi Castro’s left-footed one-timer took several bounces and squeezed past goalkeeper JP Becerra at the near post.
San José State goalkeeper Eric Waltz made 4 saves in earning the victory.
