ARCATA -
Despite having what turned out to be a disappointing sweep of a pair of home matches last weekend, Humboldt State men's soccer can make its push in the California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division ranks.
The Lumberjacks will have their second weekend at home when San Francisco State and and Cal State Monterey Bay come to Arcata for the North Division rematches from the league's opening weekend.
Jacks have enough to take Toros
HSU was able to have enough to corral Cal State Dominguez Hills on the soccer pitch last Friday afternoon.
After a Lumberjacks' goal by Chuck Pitts midway in the opening half, Braxton Griffin added a second at 67:59 and the home club held off a charging Toros squad, 2-1, for the victory.
HSU snapped a three-match losing streak going into the day.
The formerly-ranked Toros turned up the heat in the last 15 minutes of play.
After a flurry in the Jacks end, Aaron Salazar fired a crossing pass 20 yards from right to left to Miguel Vazquez, who put the ball in the upper left to make it a 2-1 contest at 78:51.
The Toros were called offsides at 84:38 after thinking they had tied the contest.
The visitors edged out a 15-13 shot tally but the Jacks' goalie Ryan Ades had a good effort in net. The senior Ades saved six shots in the 90 minutes of play.
#18 Golden Eagles bite Jacks in overtime
On an unusually hot day in the area, the action on the pitch was just as hot in what was an evenly-matched and exciting men's soccer affair.
It took an extra 6:25 into the first overtime to find a winner in the CCAA contest.
Off a short pass from the left flat, 18th-ranked Cal State Los Angeles' Halil Tozar fired the ball into the net amidst heavy pressure from 12 yards in front for the 3-2 win over HSU last Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles goal fittingly gave them the edge, 18-17, in shots for the game.
After a CSULA foul, Zach Hammond blistered a free kick from the top of the box and curled it around the wall and into the goal for a 2-1 home lead.
The ranked Golden Eagles would mount a stiff challenge five minutes later.
At 79:02, Tozar booted the ball to a cutting Andre Bissmark on the right side, who put it into the left side of the goal for a 2-2 deadlock.
The two CCAA squads could not muster another score in the final 11 minutes for the overtime ending.
Coach Jungemann's Comments on last weekend:
"We played two solid games this past weekend, against two of the top teams in our conference. Obviously we would have preferred a better result on Sunday, but both performances were very good."
Hammond continues scoring output
The CCAA's leading scorer Zach Hammond continues to put points on the board.
The senior forward recorded points in seven of the Jacks' nine matches with four points in the two home matches last weekend.
Against CSU Dominguez Hills, Hammond assisted on the game-winning goal, before having both a goal and another assist versus Cal State Los Angeles.
Hammond leads the CCAA with seven goals and stands second at 16 points.
Griffin finds the net in back-to-back affairs
The Jacks found another source of goals last weekend. Sophomore forward Braxton Griffin booted the game-winner against CSU Dominguez Hills and the first tally against Cal State Los Angeles. The pair of scores gives him five points on the year after assisting on an early goal in the season.
Coach Jungemann's Comments on this weekend:
"We will look forward to another weekend at home and hope to improve on the results with the confidence gained from two strong performances."
Weekend's CCAA home matches
vs. San Francisco State (Fri at 3:00 p.m.):
Season Record: 3-6-1/2-5-1 CCAA North
Series History: SFSU leads 30-25-7
Last meeting: 1-1 2OT tie on Sept. 15 in San Francisco ... HSU's Hammond scored at 31:38 & SFSU's Merritt tied at 78:40
Last HSU win: 2-1 OT in 2nd meeting of 2009 season
Gators' 2012 record: 4-10-4/3-8-4 CCAA North
*Coached by 17th-year Joe Hunter who has a 111-203-24 mark over that time.
*Gators have dropped their last three matches and four of the last five
*Have been shutout in the last three contests with losses at Cal State East Bay (1-0), at Cal State Monterey Bay (2-0) and home against Chico State (1-0)
*Only scored eight goals in 10 matches with four times being shutout
*Allowed only 11 goals in 10 contests and shutout two foes
*Gator have been outshot 161-102 and 70-33 for shots on goal
*Goalie Colt Reichl leads the CCAA with 53 saves and third in save percentage (.828)
*Sam Merritt has put the ball in the net three times
*Andrew Ogilvy has two scores
vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (Sun. at 2:00 p.m.):
Season Record: 6-3-1/4-3-1 CCAA North
Series History: CSUMB leads 7-4-2
Last meeting: CSUMB 5-3 win on Sept. 13 in Seaside ... Otters scored twice in opening 4 minutes and 4 times in first half
Last HSU win: 1-0 on Sept. 6, 2011 in Arcata
Otters' 2012 record: 3-12-0/3-11-0 CCAA North
*Coached by 3rd-year Rob Cummings
*Otters lead CCAA North by one game
*Have scored a goal in all 10 matches
*Tied for 3rd in CCAA with 18 goals
*Swept San Francisco State (2-0) and CSU San Bernardino (2-1) in last week's matches
*Opened season with four wins in a row, before going 0-3-1 in the next four before last weekend
*Servando Perez is tied for third with 5 goals in CCAA
*Alberto Anguiano's four assist ties him for 4th in CCAA
*Goalie Evan Drake is 2nd with 45 saves in CCAA