By Gabriel Luis (@gabelun):
San Jose State’s men’s soccer team (7-10-1, 5-4-1 WAC) beat CSU Bakersfield (6-10-1, 4-5-1 WAC) 1-0, punching its ticket to the conference tournament.
“Its great to win,” said SJSU head coach Simon Tobin. “Winning five out of the last six [games], we’re keeping that momentum going.”
The Spartans and the Roadrunners entered the match with the same record and both needed to win in order to place for the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
For the first half of the match, San Jose State appeared to be in control as the team finished with seven shots and were able to receive three corner kicks opposed to Bakersfield, who finished with only four shots and a sole corner kick.
The Spartans main form of attack came from defensive players playing wide and crossing the ball.
The game’s only goal came from a cross into the box that met junior forward Miguel Castillo’s head and glided into the upper 90 in the 34th minute.
“Feels great,” said Castillo. “I just tried to bring some energy [into the game].”
Bakersfield appeared to get more and more frustrated in the remaining minutes of the match as it was unable to convert any of the 10 shots taken.
The 34th minute header marks Castillo’s first goal of his season and provided San Jose State with enough points to qualify for the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Tobin explained that the team will be prepared for the tournament, after emphasizing the depth of the team and the low injury count.
With the victory at home, the Spartans will be heading to Las Vegas next week to compete against the other top 7 universities in the conference.
“I’d like to go to the tournament being in the best form of any of the WAC teams,” Tobin said.
Fourth seeded SJSU will discover who they will face in the first round of the tournament on Nov. 4th.
