Gerardo Gonzalez (@GerardoG209) – Spear Reporter
San Jose State men’s soccer (1-3-1) (WAC 0-0-0) was unable to compete Thursday night as Saint Mary’s (3-2) (WCC 0–0-0) were able to put four goals in the back of the net and hand San Jose State their third loss this season.
SJSU was unable to find itself on the field as they got shut out for the second time this season.
On what was supposed to be a special doubleheader night at the Spartan Soccer Complex, SJSU women’s soccer opened up the evening with their tie against Denver. However, night fell quickly during the men’s game as they were down early.
Saint Mary’s was able to find the back of the net in the first 8 minutes of the match on a long ball by senior defender Matthias Kuhn, in which sophomore midfielder Omar Yehya was able to strike the first goal of the night.
At the 37th minute, Saint Mary’s was able to get their second goal of the night. Sophomore forward Felix Calero headed in a corner kick curled into the back post by senior forward Greg Brighton.
Just like that, the Spartans were now down 2-0 at halftime.
Although SJSU head coach Simon Tobin made some changes for the second half, the team found itself down once again. Sophomore forward Riley Lynch curled it in the bottom left off another set piece to make it 3-0 for Saint Mary’s.
The Gaels capped off the night with a fourth goal by sophomore midfielder Gael Quintero in which he dribbled past a few Spartan defenders to smash it into the back of the net.
The Spartans were not able to find their balance throughout the game, in each third of the field.
Both teams had ten shots on goal as well as four saves. While Saint Mary’s had six corners, SJSU had five. Despite their similar statistics, SJSU was not able to find the back of the net.
With this result, SJSU has now been shut out twice and has allowed eleven goals, against only four goals scored in five games this season. The effectiveness was something that the Spartans need to work on. Head coach Simon Tobin spoke after the loss, “the team had 67% possession but in our attacking third and defensive third, we were poor.”
The Spartans will have some time to regroup and focus on their next match as they will go on the road against UC Davis on Sept. 14. at 5 pm.