By Nate Person — Staff Writer
The Spartans (2-3-1) were handed another loss today in a 3-0 shutout at home against Pacific University (4-2-1). The match was well played, but numerous controversial calls by the referees seemingly dictated the outcome early on.
Tiger’s senior midfielder Camden Riley scored the first goal of the match on a penalty shot at 18:22 in the first half. The penalty shot was set up as a result of one of these controversial calls and temporarily halted the Spartan’s momentum.
“For ten to fifteen minutes after that goal we were mentally weak,” said SJSU head coach Simon Tobin.
The next goal came from Pacific junior forward Jonathan Jimenez at 34:59. The goal was absolutely pounded into the net by Jimenez after he timed a teammate’s cross into the box perfectly.
At 42:15 the Tiger’s junior defender d’Anthony Orendain scored the third goal on a header from a missed shot that ricocheted off the goalpost and toward him. The shot that set him up was from a free kick that was also the result of a controversial call.
“Pacific is a really good team and we knew we had to come in prepared defensively, but it was just one of those days again,” said SJSU sophomore midfielder Kalei Tolentino-Perry.
Though the score doesn’t reflect it, the Spartans played a great game. They remained resilient and rebounded from the controversial calls by preventing Pacific from scoring again in the second half.
Spartan sophomore midfielder Eduardo Buenfil said, “As a team we played really good, but the call in the first half messed us up, and I feel like that’s the referee’s fault.”
The next match for SJSU is at CSU Bakersfield this Saturday at 7 p.m.