The men’s soccer team took the lead late in the first half and controlled the action for most of the match, but two goals by Cal State Bakersfield in the second half allowed the Roadrunners to defeat the Redhawks, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Championship Field.
With less than ten minutes remaining in the first half, Sean Rawson (, ) sent a throw-in into the box. Wesley Van Hooser (, ) collected the ball, made a couple of moves to clear some space, and found Andrew Kreiter () at the left post. Kreiter sent a shot past Roadrunner goalie Steve Trojanowski for his second goal of the season.
Almost seven minutes into the second half, Cal State Bakersfield (3-10-0) tied the match, as Matt Shaxton sent a crossing pass into the box, where Towa Manda met the ball in mid-air with a header for his team-leading fourth goal of the year. The Roadrunners would take the lead in the 75th minute as, on a counterattack, Chris Widdy fed Manny Guzman in the box, and Guzman’s shot found the lower left corner of the net for his third tally of the year.
had two opportunities late in the second half to tie the match. After the first two corner kicks of the match, the ball found its way to Luis Gamez () with just over ten minutes remaining in regulation, but his shot sailed wide. With the clock running below a minute, the Redhawks picked up another corner kick chance, but the Roadrunners were able to clear the ball away to seal their victory.
outshot Cal State Bakersfield, 11-5, but Trojanowski made three saves during the afternoon to keep his team in the match. goalie Jordan Jennings () took his second loss of the season after allowing the two second-half goals. The victory broke the Roadrunners’ five-match losing streak, while the Redhawks have lost both home matches so far this season.
(6-3-1) will have ten days to prepare for the Seattle Pacific Falcons, as the intracity rivalry is renewed Tuesday, Oct. 14, beginning at 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium. The next and final home match of the season for the Redhawks is Saturday, Nov. 1, against Simon Fraser beginning at 2:30 p.m.