By Ethan Ndachi (@EthanNdachi) – Content Editor | Junior winger Jordi Tortell Daly dribbles against Air Force Academy (Photo by Marco Munoz-Rodriguez – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State men’s soccer (4-6-2, 1-2-1 MW) earned its first Mountain West Conference win with a 3-1 victory against the Air Force Academy (2-5-4, 1-3-1 MW) on Saturday night at Spartan Soccer Complex
In the 75th minute, junior defender Diego Nieves played a long ball across the pitch to team captain and junior midfielder Cameron Cook, who quickly passed to sophomore midfielder Fernando Duarte.
Duarte sprinted into the box and took a shot that was saved by Falcon freshman goalkeeper Hunter Anderson. The rebound hit Duarte’s head and fell to junior winger Jordi Tortell Daly, who scored with his own head to give SJSU the lead.
With the goal at the Spartan Soccer Complex, Tortell Daly now has 4 goals for the season alongside 4 assists, making him one of SJSU’s most productive forwards. He finished the game at striker.
“Coach had been trying me out at the No. 9 a little bit during practice this week, and he liked what I did,” Tortell Daly said. “He thought we needed a change in the game and he put me up there and it worked. I think I’m really confident in driving at players…I like to go at them, to use my pace, to use my skills.”
Tortell Daly scored his second goal in the 85th minute. Junior midfielder Neo Ruiz played a ball over the top to Tortell Daly, who found his footing quickly before unleashing a thunderous strike inside the box to secure SJSU’s three points.
SJSU interim head coach Jesus “Chuy” Sanchez was pleased with the sense of urgency he saw from his Spartan squad.
“Overall, in terms of the attacking sense, I’m happy because not only did we score three, we also created multiple opportunities,” Sanchez said. “It gets difficult as you get closer to the opposition goal… so we want to score as many goals as we can.”
SJSU started strong in the 19th minute, with junior midfielder Daniel Fregoso Bautista delivering a corner kick into Air Force’s box. Anderson got a hand to the ball, but it fell to Nieves, who headed it to junior defender Tiko Moodie.
Moodie passed it to the center of the box, where freshman midfielder Isac Enriquez finished with his first touch, opening the Spartans’ scoring.
Enriquez started in place of senior midfielder and captain Angel Fernandez, who was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
In the 37th minute, Air Force sent a corner kick into the box, ensuing chaos in the box. SJSU was unable to clear it quickly, giving freshman forward Xidane Espinoza the opportunity to volley the equalizer.
In the 65th minute, Cook was brought down hard in the Falcons’ box. The officials deemed it worthy of a penalty, prompting Duarte to take the kick.
Duarte had previously scored from the penalty spot against California State University, Northridge in SJSU’s last win over a month ago, but couldn’t convert as Anderson dived to deny Duarte from scoring his second goal of the season.
Anderson has been key for the Falcons, starting every game and totaling 44 saves, 6 of those against the Spartans on the night.
SJSU had 22 shots with 11 on target compared to Air Force’s 9 and 5 on goal.
With the Spartans’ first conference win secured, Sanchez hopes his side can find consistency to finish in the top four of the table to secure a trip to the championship tournament.
“That’s what I feel like we’ve been missing this season,” Sanchez said. “The ability to get a big win, then just follow it up with another one so that we can build that confidence and also a little bit of fear against the opposition.”
Next, SJSU is scheduled to face Utah Tech University at 6 p.m. Wednesday in St. George, Utah.
