Bay Area Men’s College Soccer: Week 7

#5 Stanford (6-1-4, 1-1-3)

Seesaw Battle with Oregon State Ends in a Draw

Cam Cilley’s 85th minute equalizer enabled the Cardinal to escape with a 2-2 draw with Oregon State on Sunday afternoon. The march marked the midway point of the Pac-12 schedule.

Clarence Awoudor scored the go-ahead goal for Oregon State in their 2-2 draw vs. Stanford. (PHOTO: Oregon State University)

The first half was scoreless, but highlighted by an excellent save by Stanford goalkeeper Matt Frank, who thwarted a breakaway by getting his body in the way of a shot from point blank range by Dante Williams.

The Cardinal got on the board first in the 51st minute, when Fletcher Bank’s corner kick was headed home by Mark Fisher at the near post, his first goal of the season.

Oregon State equalized in the 65th minute on a goal from Mouhameth Thiam. Dante Williams played the ball to Fran Cortijo making his run along the left side of the penalty area. Cortijo’s cross skidded along the turf to Thiam, who shielded the ball from a Stanford defender and tapped it home.

The home side appeared to be on their way to victory in the 81st minute, when Clarence Awoudor scored on a rocket from 25 yards out.

Stanford’s game-tying goal was set up by a two-man game between Cilley and Carlo Agostinelli that created just enough of a distraction for Cilley to get behind the Oregon State backline and slip the ball past goalkeeper Luis Castillo.

Cilley had another chance with less than 2 minutes remaining, but his shot went wide.

Cardinal Overwhelmed by #1 Washington

The Cardinal suffered their first loss of the season with a 3-0 throttling at the hands of #1 Washington on Thursday.

Washington players celebrate Lucas Meek’s second goal in the Huskies’ 3-0 win over Stanford. (PHOTO: Red Box Pictures, University of Washington)

Nick Scardina opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Lucas Meek’s shot from the top of the box was blocked, but Omar Grey picked up the loose ball and shuttled it over to Scardina on the right side. Scardina’s rocket blast landed in the roof of the net.

Four minutes later, goalkeeper Matt Frank kept the Cardinal in the game by stopping a penalty kick by recovering quickly to make the save on a chip shot attempt.

But the reprieve was only temporary. Meek put the match out of reach by scoring a brace in the second half. In the 58th minute, Scardina’s shot was blocked, but he headed the rebound to Meek, who was able to get off a one-timer while sandwiched by a pair of Cardinal defenders. The soft volley went over Frank’s head and into the net.

In the 78th minute, the Huskies scored a third. Nate Jones headed a throw-in across the goalmouth and Grey redirected it to Meek who waited for the ball to come to him, then lifted his right leg to redirect the ball into the net.

Cal (3-4-4, 1-3-1)

Cal’s Defense Stands Tall, But #1 Washington Escapes with Win

The Golden Bears’ stout defensive performance gave the #1 team in the country all they could handle, but a second half goal enabled Washington to escape with a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Cal’s Jonathan Estrada is pursued by Washington’s Gio Miglietti, who scored the only goal in Sunday’s match.
(PHOTO: Juan Montermoso, klcfotos, UC Berkeley)

Gio Miglietti scored the only goal of the match after a series of headers in the 75th minute. Gabe Threadgold sent a corner kick into a huge crowd of players in front of goal. Imanol Rosales headed the ball to Lucas Meek, who headed it off the crossbar. Miglietti took a couple of steps backward and headed in the rebound between a crowd of Cal defenders.

The hosts outshot Cal by a 15-3 margin. Freshman goalkeeper Marco Brougher made 3 saves in his first collegiate start.

Cal’s only shot on goal came in the 78th minute, when Nate Carrasco’s effort went straight into the arms of goalkeeper Jadon Bowton.

Ibrahim’s Solo Effort Help Bears Earn a Draw

The Golden Bears began their Pacific Northwest road trip with a 1-1 draw at Oregon State on Thursday.

Oregon State’s Dante Williams (11) shields the ball from Cal’s Adrian Guzman (11), Christian Gomez (15), and Jack Singer (6). (Photo: Oregon State University)

The Beavers’ short passing game enabled them to take the lead in the 9th minute. Fabian Straudi received a through ball and tapped it to Adrian Molina-Diaz, who took a couple of steps and slotted the ball over to Dante Williams, whose slow roller tucked inside the far post.

Cal equalized on a brilliant individual effort from Fahmi Ibrahim in the 53rd minute. He stole the ball 30 yards from goal and made a run down the left sideline. He took a couple of steps into the penalty area and blasted a shot from a difficult angle into the roof of the net.

Clarence Awoudor nearly grabbed the lead back for Oregon State by himself, dribbling from his own half and into the Cal penalty area, but his shot was right at goalkeeper Collin Travasos.

Cal’s offense suffered a blow when Ibrahim was red carded for a reckless tackle in the 71st minute. The Beavers took 9 shots in the 19th minute in which they had the man advantage, but were unable to create the game winner.

Saint Mary’s (5-4-2, 0-1-1)

With 29 seconds left in the match, the Gaels appeared to be on their way to victory, but a goalkeeper’s mistake enabled host San Diego to score an equalizer and earn a 1-1 draw.

Cesar Bahena (11) and other San Diego players celebrate their late equalizer. (PHOTO: University of San Diego).

Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Kash Oladapo had the ball in his hands after thwarting what appeared to be San Diego’s final attack. He rolled the ball in front of him as he prepared to boot it away, unaware that Cesar Bahena was standing behind him. Bahena stole the ball and put it in the open net, as Saint Mary’s defenders rushed back frantically to try and keep it out.

The Gaels nearly got the lead back 13 seconds later, but goalkeeper Jason Dubrovich made a diving stop on a shot by Christian Engmann.

The Gaels opened the scoring in the 36th minute on a counter attack. Bastian Toelhoej sent a through ball from the midfield circle just as Wade Muttitt made his run. Muttitt outran several Torrero defenders and took a right-footed shot that bounced off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Saint Mary’s nearly added a second on a corner kick in the 73rd minute. Omar Yehya fed Christian Engmann for a goal, but a Gaels player was ruled to be in an offside position. Engmann almost put Gaels back ahead in 20 seconds later with a big right-footed shot that required an incredible leaping save.

Oladapo played well prior to the miscue, making a diving save on a shot by Rhys Gourdie in the 4th minute and deflecting a shot from Bahena over the crossbar in the 8th minute.

Santa Clara (3-2-4, 0-0-2)

Both teams scored early and late in the Broncos’ 2-2 draw with visiting Gonzaga on Saturday night.

Santa Clara’s Eduardo Lopez Perez (8) assisted on both goals in the Broncos’ 2-2 draw with Gonzaga. (PHOTO: Santa Clara University)

The Bulldogs took the lead just 38 seconds into the match, when the Broncos turned the ball over and Demitrius Kigeya took advantage for an easy goal.

Santa Clara equalized in the 15th minute on a goal by Pierce Dyal. Eduardo Lopez Perez sent in a direct ball from near midfield that found Jesse Anamoo at the far post. Anamoo’s header was punched away by Bulldogs goalkeeper Johan Garibay, but Dyal redirected it into the net from the edge of the 6-yard box.

The Broncos were forced to play with 10 men when Caden Buckley picked up his second yellow card of in the 38th minute. Broncos goalkeeper Felix Schaefer helped keep his shorthanded club in the match with five saves in the second half.

The hosts appeared to be on their way to victory when Chase Weiner scored on the counterattack in the 85th minute. Tyrone Kirunda made a long run along the left sideline. He fed the ball to Lopez Perez, who took a couple of dribbles to draw in the defenders, then dished the ball off to Weiner at the far post for the quick finish.

But they had to settle for their third consecutive draw when the Bulldogs’ Wylie Trujillo equalized just 22 seconds later. Loic Baures fed Kigeya as he made his run along the left side. He dished the ball back an unmarked Trujillo whose one-timer was perfectly placed inside the right post.

USF (6-3-2, 0-2)

Shrouded by heavy fog in San Francisco, the Dons made things difficult for #9 Portland, but the undefeated Pilots ultimately prevailed by a score of 1-0.

Gurman Sangha scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute, chasing down a long ball into the box from Nick Fernandez and using his head to nudge the ball past goalkeeper Eric Waltz.

The Dons took 4 shots in the match and Portland goalkeeper George Tasouris was credited with one save, on a shot by Nathan Simeon in the 26th minute. In the 48th minute, Tasouris also got a hand on a header attempt by Andri Jonasson, deflecting it over the crossbar for a corner.

Waltz made 2 saves on 4 Portland shot attempts, including a diving stop on a shot from Brandon Cambridge late in the first half.

San Jose State (5-3-2, 1-0-1)

The Spartans charged out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and held on for a 2-1 win over winless Incarnate Word on Saturday night at the Spartan Soccer Complex.

Incarnate Word is not participating in the Western Athletic Conference this season, so the match does not count in the conference standings.

Isaac Lomeli got the Spartans on the board in the 6th minute. Beau Leroux fed Riccardo Scarafia at the edge of the penalty area. Scarafia faked out a pair of defenders and sent in a cross that found Mario Barocio with his back to the goal. Barocio tapped the ball to Lomeli for the finish.

Leroux and Scarafia also teamed up on the Spartans’ second goal, less than 2 minutes before halftime. Herminio Padilla’s through ball from the Spartans’ half found Scarfia making his run along the left side. Incarnate Word goalkeeper Hugo Constant smothered his shot attempt, but Scarafia grabbed the rebound and crossed the ball to the far post where Leroux finished with a header into the open net.

The Spartans outshot the Cardinals 22-6, but Sello Diphoko’s goal in the the 81st minute gave the visitors hope of earning a draw. The Spartans’ defense rose to the challenge, limiting them to a single shot in the remainder of the match, a shot from Diphoko 20 seconds later.