By Johnny Schaffer — Reporter
The San Jose State Men’s soccer team (10-6-3, 7-7-2, WAC) shut out the Utah Valley Wolverines (9-6-2, 6-4 WAC) in the second half to hold on to a 4-3 win in the Western Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals on Wed, Nov 11.
The Wolverines began off and running with a goal three minutes in from senior midfielder James Pena with the assist from redshirt junior Jojea Kwizera.
Kwizera added another assist on the day as UVU took a quick 2-0 lead off the foot of sophomore Aaron Nixon.
The Spartans got on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty kick goal from senior midfielder Max Allen cutting into Utah Valley’s lead 2-1.
The Wolverines swiftly responded as Kwizera added an insurance goal with Nixon getting the assist.
The goals kept coming as the Spartans again dwindled the Wolverines lead to 3-2 after sophomore forward Ryota Nakashima belted in the goal, assisted by senior defender Omar Lemus.
SJSU tied the game with four minutes left in the half from senior forward Rudi Castro and the game would be tied 3-3 heading into halftime.
The Spartans got their first lead of the game with a goal from Willy Miranda taking the lead 4-3 in the early stages of the second half.
SJSU held down the Wolverines in the second half to seal the win and advance to the semifinals.
No Spartans had multiple points but every play contributed to this huge win.
As for the Wolverines, Kwizera was not shut down with two assists and a goal already coming into the game as a lethal weapon.
The Spartans’ next game of the tournament will be against Grand Canyon University (14-3, 9-2 WAC) for a spot in the championship game on the line.The Spartans last beat GCU at Spartan Soccer Complex on Sat, Oct 16 by a score of 2-1 and will look to do it again.
The game will be on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Phoenix on ESPN +.
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