By Ricardo Garcia — Reporter
The San Jose State men’s soccer (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC) team looked to build on their momentum after a 5-2 win against the UC Davis last Sunday, as they were set to take on the No. 25 ranked Stanford Cardinal (2-1-1, 0-0-0 PAC).
After a grueling double-overtime thriller, both teams failed to find the back of the net which resulted in a final score of 0-0.
Both teams came out looking to establish possession of the ball in order to start creating some opportunities to score.
The Cardinals had the edge on offense in the first half while the Spartans struggled to get it going on offense. Stanford finished the period with seven shot attempts while SJSU finished with just two.
Things began to heat up between the two squads as they fought to gain the advantage. This resulted in fouls being called against both teams who combined for a total of 12 fouls in the first half.
As the first half ended the score would remain 0-0 with both teams still searching for the opportunity to gain the lead.
The Stanford offense continued to push the pace creating some good opportunities to score but could not capitalize because of some great saves from sophomore goalkeeper Eric Waltz.
Waltz was a key factor in the draw, facing a total of seven shots on goal and saving all of them to secure the shutout and a new career-high for saves in a game.
The Spartans came out with better energy on offense, but it was the defense that held up strong against the potent Cardinal attack.
Each team gave one final push in the final minutes of regular time, however, the match remained scoreless into extra time.
Each squad came out with everything they had left on offense getting some decent looks but could not do enough to secure the win. The match ended in a draw.
The final stats truly showed the tough duel between these two teams as the Spartans finished with seven total shots and 13 fouls and the Cardinal with 19 total shots and 19 fouls.
SJSU looks to continue its unbeaten streak as it will travel to face off against Saint Mary’s College this Monday at 4:00 p.m. on the WCC network.
Follow Ricardo on Twitter @SJSURicardoG
