By Alex Guzman – Spear Reporter | Junior defender Tiko Moodie celebrates after win against Air Force Academy on Oct. 10 (Photo by Marco Munoz — Spear photographer)
San Jose State’s men’s soccer (5-6-2, 2-2-1 MW) held Utah Tech University (1-10-2, 0-4-1 MW) scoreless, winning 2-0 on Wednesday at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George, Utah.
In the 66th minute, junior midfielder Neo Ruiz sent a ball into the middle of the box and junior defender Diego Nieves played it to sophomore forward Ryan Corcoran, who flicked it behind him to junior defender Tiko Moodie.
Moodie finished into the back of the net for his first career goal. Corcoran, who entered at halftime, finished with a goal and an assist.
“Ryan has been working hard, he got a couple minutes earlier on in the season, put his head down, and is starting to get to the position where the speed of play is catching up,” SJSU interim head coach Jesus “Chuy” Sanchez said. “We’re excited to have him contribute throughout the rest of the season.”
The Spartans controlled possession through a scoreless first half where neither side could break through. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Ronin Axelson made two saves in the first half to keep the game level.
The deadlock broke in the 57th minute. Corcoran scored the first goal of his season off an assist from freshman defender Isac Enriquez, giving SJSU a 1-0 lead.
“I enjoyed the performance, defensively, knowing that now our attacking players are starting to get into a groove,” Sanchez said.
The Trailblazers pushed back late as they took eight shots in the second half. Axelson turned away every shot on target for five additional saves in the second half and earned his second shutout of the season.
Axelson now leads the Mountain West with 57 saves this season.
The match was physical, as Utah Tech picked up four yellow cards and SJSU picked up three.
“I knew it was gonna be a tricky fixture,” Sanchez said. “Coming off a win at Air Force, I was really curious to see how the boys’ mentality was.”
SJSU will return home to take on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Spartan Soccer Complex in San Jose, Calif.
