Ethan Ndachi (@EthanNdachi) – Content editor | Sophomores Arnold Matshazi and Cameron Cook before their match against SDSU (Photo by Nathaniel Solomon – Freelance photographer)
On the opening night of the Western Athletic Conference championship tournament, San Jose State men’s soccer (11-3-4, 4-2-2 WAC) put four goals past No. 5 seed San Diego State (7-9-2, 3-3-2 WAC) in a spectacular performance that advanced them to the semifinals.
SJSU men’s soccer have now won 11 games in a season for the first time since 2005.
This result marks the most goals the Spartans have scored in a single match this season and rectifies a tie against the Aztecs last month.
“We were very confident in our ability,” SJSU head coach Simon Tobin said. “We’re still a little upset that the tie against San Diego State meant we didn’t get a bye, when we thought we were quite dominant.”
SJSU’s confidence showed the whole game from the first whistle to the last.
In the 34th minute, redshirt junior defender Dane Pendleton dribbled into SDSU’s box and put a ball on a plate for sophomore striker Arnold Matshazi to tap it home, opening the scoring for SJSU.
This marks Matshazi’s 11th goal for the season and has scored in his third consecutive game for the Spartans.
The Matshazi magic wouldn’t end there, however, when in the 63rd minute he would provide the assist for sophomore midfielder Cameron Cook’s stellar strike.
Cook’s goal brings him up to two for the season, and brings countryman Matshazi his first career assist. The two have combined for three goals this season so far, showing that their chemistry is unmatched.
SDSU would face a setback after redshirt freshman goalkeeper Trevor Wilson fouled Matshazi on the edge of the box in the 65th minute, denying a goal scoring opportunity and receiving a red card.
This in turn would allow SJSU to have their way for the rest of the match.
SJSU had 19 shots in the game, with nine of them hitting the target, and kept 62% possession of the ball.
“We’re not the biggest team…but we always have the ball so it doesn’t matter,” Tobin said. “Whoever we play we want to own the ball.”
Offensively the Spartans seemed care free, flowing brilliantly in attack and allowing their players to take the game by the horns.
In the 86th minute, a long ball from redshirt goalkeeper Edgar Guerra found its way to Pendleton on the run. The leftback found sophomore midfielder Jesper Bakli on his right, and laid it off to give the Norwegian his first goal for SJSU.
Bakli is an active threat coming off the bench, already having two assists to his name for the season.
Pendleton would also have an excellent night in Riverside, earning two assists flying up, down and all around the left flank.
Amidst the celebrations, Aztec senior midfielder Josh Lucas pushed Bakli out of frustration which caused the referee to give him a red card, leaving SDSU with nine men on the pitch.
While the fans at CBU Soccer Stadium were still processing these sequences of events, SJSU were yet again on another attack within seconds.
Senior forward Anthony Guzman played freshman forward Amir Anwary in, who earned his first goal of the season after his shot deflected off Aztec senior goalkeeper Eddy Vargas.
Anwary has come off the bench in the Spartans last three games in a row, and now has a goal and assist to boast for his contributions. Guzman would also earn his second assist of the season.
Despite the dominant offense from the Spartans, Guerra was still tasked with making five saves and keeping himself at the top of the WAC clean sheet pack with eight shutouts.
“He kept a clean sheet and I think he got an assist there on the last goal,” Tobin said. “He’s been good for us all season.”
Guerra now has 38 saves this season, and has boosted his save percentage to .899.
Junior midfielder Gilberto Rivera helped Guerra out in goal in the 85th minute, making a key block which earned him a team save, backing Tobin’s constant notion that clean sheets take all 11 players on the pitch.
This shutout makes their most in a season since 2000, and is the first time the Spartans denied SDSU of scoring since 2004.
SJSU will battle regular season winners and tournament hosts No.1 seed California Baptist in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12 in Riverside, Calif.
