Cal United Strikers FC showed off the depth of their roster in their 1-0 victory over host Bay Cities FC on Saturday night.
The Orange County side made several lineup changes following their midweek U.S. Open Cup match, a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Goalkeeper Jean Gamain Antoine and defender Garrett Hogbin were the only two players who started in both matches, with Omar Nuño and Shinya Kadono appearing as second half substitutes.
Andy Contreras scored the only goal for Cal United in the 72nd minute, his fourth shot of the match. Contreras got a cross from Kevin Garcia Lopez and fired a left-footed rocket from the edge of the penalty area. Bay Cities defender Jacob Penner tried to block the shot, but ended up slightly redirecting it as it tucked inside the far post.
The first half was relatively even, with the best scoring chance coming in the 44th minute, when Cal United’s Caleb Suh’s hit the crossbar with a one-timer from near the left touchline.
Bay Cities’ Alan Cruz-Gomez made an excellent save in the 49th minute, rushing out of his goal to deflect away Ryotaro Kawashima’s shot from close range.
Bay Cities’ push for the equalizer was interrupted when Ivan Valencia received a yellow card for a rough tackle from behind in the 77th minute. He was sent off 2 minutes later, as he fouled Kadono to prevent him from getting a scoring chance on a breakaway.
Cruz-Gomez made another excellent stop in the 87th minute, deflecting away a shot attempt from Nuño that was headed for the upper corner.
Antoine made 4 saves to keep a clean sheet, including two shots from Josiah Romero.
