By Gerardo Gonzalez (@GerardoG209) – Soccer Beat Reporter
San Jose State men’s soccer (5-3-2, 2-0-1 WAC) capped off the night with a 2-1 victory over Incarnate Word (0-10, 0-0 WAC) on Saturday night.
The Spartans started off the game hot as junior midfielder Isaac Lomeli scored within the first five minutes of the game. A nice connection with freshman forward Riccardo Scarafia inside the box allowed Lomeli to score his first goal of the season.
“Yeah first goal, this is something that I have been working hard for so I am really excited”, Lomeli said.
Just a couple minutes before halftime, sophomore midfielder Beau Leroux headered in a cross by Scarafia to put SJSU up 2-0. This would be Leroux’s fifth goal of the season and Scarafia’s second assist of the night.
Going into the second half, Incarnate Word lacked possession and did not seem to cause any danger. The Cardinals only had two shots on goal while SJSU senior goalkeeper David Sweeney only recorded two saves.
However, a mistake by the Spartans backline allowed the opposition to find the back of the net in the last 10 minutes of the game. Freshman forward Sello Diphoko scored from 30 yards as Sweeney was out of his box.
It seemed as if the Cardinals were pushing to get the draw as the final minutes winded down, but SJSU remained strong and maintained the score to leave home with the three points.
“Every match we go out there and give our best. We learn something from each other and I think this really prepares us for adversity when we go on the road, which are going to be tough games”, said Lomeli.
With this win, the Spartans unbeaten streak continues. They have not lost in five straight matches. While it was a close game towards the end, SJSU could have scored a few more as it had plenty of chances. The Spartans 10 shots on goal in total against three for Incarnate Word left head coach Simon Tobin a bit unhappy after the game.
“We should have had two or three goals to have a bit more cushion but I thought we were poor in the second half. We did enough to win but we were hanging on in the end.”
San Jose State men’s soccer will travel on the road for the next two games as they will first face UNLV on Oct. 14 at 7:00 p.m.