The men’s soccer team could not come all the way back from a two-goal deficit, as defeated the Redhawks, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.
(3-1-2) peppered the defense with several shots early in the match, as the Spartans took seven shots halfway through the first half before the Redhawks were credited with their first shot. The home team finally connected in the 34th minute, as Hiroki Akiyama successfully executed a bicycle kick shot after Robert Jackson’s attempt was saved by Jordan Jennings () and Stephen Cordova had his shot blocked.
Almost 12 minutes into the second half, the Spartans struck again, as Efrain Burgos, Jr., connected on his shot from just outside the penalty area into the right corner of the net. For the match, held a significant 25-9 shot advantage, but only six of those shots were on goal.
The Redhawks broke through in the 69th minute, as Kyle Peterman (, ) sent a crossing pass into the box, where Ian Walsh () was waiting at the near post. Walsh beat Spartan goalie Lewis Sweeney for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. had its chances to tie the match in the final eight minutes of the second half, but Demaci Roussos () was stopped by backup goalie Richard Mann, and attempts by Walsh and Peterman in the final three minutes of regulation were off the mark.
Suffering his first loss of the season, finished the match with four saves. Sweeney had one save before being replaced by Mann, who also finished the afternoon with a save in his column. Walsh and Andrew Kreiter (, ) each had three shots to lead , while Cordova and each led the Spartans with four total shots.
(5-2-1) concludes its six-match road trip with a match against Simon Fraser in , B.C., next Saturday, Sept. 27, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Redhawks then return home to face Cal State Bakersfield Saturday, Oct. 4, beginning at 12 noon at Championship Field.