By Sarah Mosteller (@sarahmoste1ler) – Spear Reporter
Sophmore midfielder Angel Iniguez | Sarah Mosteller – The Spear
SJSU men’s soccer (5-5-4, 2-2-1 WAC) took the field at the Spartan Soccer Complex on Thursday in a 0-2 battle against California Baptist University (5-4-2, 3-0-0 WAC).
Coming off of a win in their last game, the Spartans looked to strengthen their position in the WAC rankings.
Nonetheless, the Spartans’ home-field advantage couldn’t withstand the challenge posed by the second-place Lancers.
“This is obviously the team that beat us in the championship last year.” Head coach Simon Tobin said after the match. “I feel they’re a little bit stronger actually this year now that they’ve got everyone back.”
The first half of the game unfolded slowly, with both teams making efforts to build momentum but struggling to capitalize on opportunities.
The teams combined for five shots, three of which were on target.
SJSU fifth-year goalkeeper David Sweeney recorded five saves for the night, leading the Spartan men’s soccer team. This follows his recent achievement last Sunday when he claimed the top spot on the career shutouts list.
Sweeney also broke the career-saves record last Thursday against UNLV, solidifying his place atop the SJSU career-saves list. Sweeney now boasts a record-breaking 265 career saves and counting.
After the halftime break, SJSU forced CBU’s goalkeeper into making three saves within the first 23 minutes, but ultimately couldn’t find the net.
SJSU sophomores Angel Iniguez and Anthony Guzman led the Spartans with two shots each.
Gaku Nishimura, Angel Fernandez, and Josh Lucas all put up shots on goal.
CBU scored both of their goals in the second half, with the first coming in the 79th minute and the second following closely in the 83rd minute.
“Overall, it was a good performance,” Tobin said. “I can’t be too upset with the way we played.”
SJSU currently sits in fourth place in the WAC standings, trailing only by two points behind UNLV and CBU, who share the second-place spot.
The Spartans will host Senior Day on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Grand Canyon University.