By: Mohammad Najimi (@mnajimisjsu) – Spear Reporter | Spartans’ head coach Simon Tobin watches his team cruise onto a 3-1 victory against the Lancers on Saturday night. (Photo by Haddy Barghouti – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State men’s soccer (8-1-2, 1-0-0 WAC) opened its Western Athletic Conference play by demonstrating that defensive focus could define its conference campaign.
The Spartans held control over the Lancers (5-2-2, 0-1-0 WAC) for nearly the entire match, only allowing a goal in the final 30 seconds of a 3-1 win, and carried a 2-0 advantage into halftime.
The performance highlighted the importance of intensity and preparation in conference play.
“I think it’s important that we remember to play 90 minutes at a high intensity. I think Cal Baptist came out in the first 15 minutes a little bit better than us, and on another day that may not be good enough,” SJSU associate head coach Jesus Sanchez said. “So we need to be sharper from the beginning. We need to make sure that we’re at the intensity levels of the opposition, and we’re matching that or beating that, and just finish games.”
Central to that defensive identity is the cohesion of the back line. Senior defender Niklas Dossmann said the trust developed over the season allows the team to manage threats effectively.
“I think over the course of the season we built a good relationship and understand each other really well,” Dossmann said. “So we were proud of each other to almost shut them out. They were good attacking four players and an unlucky goal at the end, but moving forward.”
Dossmann emphasized that defensive responsibility extends beyond the back line.
“I think the guys in the back know that if we do our jobs and hold them scoreless for the majority of the game, we will get goals because we’ve got a lot of attacking talent going forward,” Dossmann said. “So, you know, we can trust them and they can trust us and we get results.”
For SJSU, defensive success came not just from positioning or pace, but from the constant communication and awareness that allowed the back line to adjust quickly to CBU’s’s offensive shifts.
“Obviously, they’ve got a few attacking threats to be aware of, and so we pay special attention to them,” Dossmann said. “But, you know, we communicate really well. We understand each other on the back, so we approach it with the same mindset every game.”
Sanchez noted that defensive strength isn’t just reactive — it starts with pressure and anticipation.
“To be fair, to try to stop the ball going into the attacking players as much as possible because you saw that as soon as they were able to get on the ball, they were able to create some dangerous moments,” Sanchez said. “So I think defensively it was all about can we instill pressure higher up the pitch and can we stop the ball getting to their attacking players as much as possible. And I think overall we did that, but they’re still a good enough team to find solutions.”
The Spartans’ approach shows that success in the WAC is as much about maintaining a collective mindset as it is about individual skill.
“Had to weather the storm a little bit in the first 15 minutes. I think our top players came out with great intensity and they kind of went back,” Sanchez said. “But we responded well and were able to produce some good goals and some good moments from two of our top players. So overall, the team worked really hard and a little bit sour at the end to concede that goal.”
By controlling the game through defensive structure and trust across positions, SJSU sent a message about the style it hopes to carry throughout conference play.
Dossmann said the team’s shared understanding and communication give the Spartans confidence to execute on both ends of the field.
The WAC opener served as a reminder that intensity, organization and cohesion can shape results, not just individual moments.
Maintaining that approach will be key as the Spartans continue their season.
SJSU will look to build on this foundation against the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Thursday at 4 p.m. in St. George, Utah.
