By Ethan Ndachi (@EthanNdachi) – Content Editor | Junior winger Jordi Tortell Daly and sophomore striker Amir Anwary celebrate after scoring against Saint Mary’s College of California (Photo by Cesar Maya – Spear photographer)
San Jose State men’s soccer (1-2) returned home to defeat Saint Mary’s College of California (1-3) 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.
In the 26th minute, the Spartans tried to squeeze the Gaels into their third of the pitch, prompting junior defender Cameron Cook to cross into the box.
The pass found sophomore striker Amir Anwary, who buried it to put SJSU up 2-1.
“We started to notice Amir’s ability to produce when he’s on the left side,” interim SJSU head coach Jesus “Chuy” Sanchez said. “That’s where he played in club, so that makes sense.”
While Anwary was previously deployed as a center forward, at left wing, he’s been impactful on and off the ball, with his passing from wide in particular impressing.
“It was a little bit of a change because I’ve been playing the nine, but being out on the wing and being able to serve balls in to whoever’s in the middle, it made a good strategy for us to attack,” Anwary said. “I do feel like I’ve been a bit more comfortable out wide, but wherever Chuy wants me to play I’m playing.”
Just a few minutes later, junior winger Jordi Tortell Daly dribbled into the box from the right flank and picked out a pass to the middle of the penalty area. It was found by Anwary, who scored with a first-touch finish past Gaels junior goalkeeper Sam Bentley.
Tortell Daly’s wing play had a major influence on the game, earning 4 shots with 2 on target and finishing with both a goal and assist for his efforts at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
The San Jose native was winning duels on the ground and in the air, using his pace and power to put Saint Mary’s under pressure.
“I think we just have new type of attackers now, losing Arnold (Matshazi) and AI (Angel Iniguez), they were very technical, but now we have me and Amir who are more fast and more direct players,” Tortell Daly said. “It’s a little bit of a change but I think if we are able to get it down we’re going to be able to get numbers on the board.”
Tortell Daly wasted no time scoring SJSU’s first goal of the season, scoring five minutes into the game. Senior midfielder Angel Fernandez took a curling shot from outside the box that hit the crossbar.
The rebound found junior midfielder Daniel Fregoso Bautista, who drilled a pass into the box, finding Tortell Daly for the opener.
The Gaels would return fire shortly after, however. Sophomore midfielder Cameron Kobey charged through midfield before playing a quick one-two passing sequence with graduate student forward Luke Schaefer, which allowed him to score from outside the box.
The home opener was end-to-end action. SJSU had 16 shots with 9 on target, while Saint Mary’s had 13 with 8 on target.
Sanchez and the Spartan coaching staff want to clean up a lot of mistakes and opportunities that are given to the opposition.
In the 33rd minute, Schaefer drove with the ball into the Spartans’ box and scored a far-side finish to keep the Gaels in the game at 2-2.
Just before the 80th minute, Anwary played a ball over to Fregoso Bautista, who was running into the box. Fregoso fired a powerful left-footed shot to put Bentley on his backside and SJSU ahead 4-2.
Fregoso Bautista was also playing in the No. 10 attacking midfield role for the majority of the game, drifting around the pitch to get on the ball and take on opposing players.
Sanchez explained that players would be deployed in different positions this season.
“I’ve been taught by Simon (Tobin) to always look at the players’ individual strengths and try to maximize that, collectively we try to help the individuals with their strengths,” Sanchez said.
Next, the Spartans host Stanford at 7 p.m. Friday at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
