SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cal Poly Humboldt men's soccer team faced off against the San Francisco State Gators (SFSU) from Cox Stadium in San Francisco on Friday. With both teams looking to pick up their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) win, a scoring frenzy propelled Humboldt past the Gators that ended with a final score of 4-3.
Juan Perez,
Marcus Abdel-Malek,
Cooper Stephens and
Cole Falco all scored, while
Adrian Gallardo had eight saves in goal. Humboldt now holds a 4-4-1 record overall and 1-2 record in CCAA play.
"Today's game is a perfect example of how hard it is to win in this conference," said head coach
Fred Jungemann. "Both teams played their hearts out in this crazy rollercoaster of a game. Our guys have played very well in our last three games and I couldn't be happier for them to put together a good performance and result."
San Francisco went on the attack early and posted two shots on goal that were both saved by keeper
Adrian Gallardo. A foul on Humboldt resulted in a penalty kick for the Gators at the 5:23 mark. Gallardo saved the shot from SFSU's Julio Gonzalez Ponce, but Gonzalez Ponce tapped the deflected save in for a goal to put the Gators up 1-0. A minute later,
Cole Falco sent the ball to the middle that was deflected back to
Juan Perez. The 'Jacks responded with a goal from Perez that was perfectly placed in the upper right corner to even the score at 1-1.
At the 14:56 mark, Perez played a ball through two Gator defenders up field to
Marcus Abdel-Malek, where he placed the ball in the bottom right corner to put Humboldt up 2-1. The back-and-forth battle continued, as just 14 seconds later SFSU's Julio Gonzalez Ponce converted his second goal of the match on a Pedro Moura assist to make it 2-2.
In the 33rd minute, Perez applied immense pressure to the Gator player who possessed the ball and forced SFSU to kick it back to their goalie. The Gator goalkeeper tried to kick it to his nearby teammate but instead tapped it in front of
Cooper Stephens who was running full speed for the ball. Stephens stole the ball and tapped it in behind the SFSU keeper for an easy goal to give the 'Jacks a 3-2 advantage headed into the half.
The second half began with SFSU's Emerson Trujillo scoring an equalizer at the 54:34 mark on a Denis Vezina assist to tie it 3-3. A Gator foul in the box just four minutes later gave
Cole Falco a penalty kick opportunity. Falco converted on the penalty kick and put the 'Jacks ahead 4-3, eventually resulting in the game winner.
Adrian Gallardo was busy in goal to close out the game, as the Gators shot five more times and had seven second half corner kicks that were all defended by Humboldt. Despite being out shot by the Gators (18-8) and having 10 less opportunities from the corner, the 'Jacks held on for a wild 4-3 win on the road.
Notable Stats
Records
Cal Poly Humboldt (4-4-1, 1-2-0 CCAA)
San Francisco State (2-5-2, 0-2-1 CCAA)
Up Next
Humboldt will travel to Cal State Monterey Bay (6-1-2, 2-0-0 CCAA) and take on the No. 15 ranked Otters this Sunday at 11:30 AM from CSUMB Soccer Complex in Seaside, Calif. You can catch the action on the
CCAA Network. For more information on Cal Poly Humboldt men's soccer, please visit
humboldtathletics.com and follow us on all social media platforms.
