By Chris Estrada — Staff Writer
San Jose State (5-4-2, 2-1-1 WAC) shutout Grand Canyon University (6-7-0, 2-2-0 WAC) 1-0 Friday night behind a late goal from senior Zach Penner.
With less than eight minutes on the clock, Penner scored the winning shot with the help of an assist from mid-fielder Jonathan Partida.
“I stole a ball, saw the space, took advantage, saw Zach and I sliced it to him and he finished it off so it was a good goal in the end,” Partida said.
That was all the offense of the game and it was all that was needed for the Spartans. SJSU had few scoring chances in the first half but came up empty trying to take advantage of corner kicks. The spartans had four corner kicks and four shots on goal in the first half.
The Antelopes had a relatively quiet first half offensively. GCU put up five shots but only one was close enough for SJSU goalie Alex Clewis to to save.
In the second half, the Spartans came right out of the gate putting pressure on the Antelopes defense just as they had in the first half. For the game, SJSU put up 14 shots as compared to GCU with eight, however, the Antelopes only had the one lone shot on goal all game long.
“We dominated possession, and the defense didn’t get called out too much because we did have total control of the ball,” head coach Simon Tobin said. “ We did let down for maybe five or 10 minutes but for the most part we had the ball.”
Emotions started to escalate late in the game as SJSU pushed the ball in GCU territory. Fouls started getting rougher and there was some pushing and shoving in the final 10 minutes. GCU players Calvin Kissi and Alex Radilla were given yellow cards for their involvement.
This was SJSU’s first shutout win on the season (tied Stanford 0-0 in the first game of the season).
Now the Spartans will have one day to prepare before they face-off against UNLV on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Follow Chris on Twitter @estradadotc