Nov. 2, 2014
Las Vegas, Nev. - The San José State men's soccer team played 110 minutes against the UNLV Rebels, but neither team came away with the result they wanted in a 0-0 Western Athletic conference draw on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans (6-8-2, 4-2-2 WAC) earned a point for the result, but drop to two points behind Seattle U for second place in the WAC standings. Seattle U stand at 16 points to San José State's 14 and both trail UNLV who is at the top of the table with 19.
Next week the Spartans host Seattle U on Friday and Utah Valley on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. SJSU qualified for the WAC Championship Tournament this weekend and now plays for seeding in that event.
"We control our own destiny," said head coach Simon Tobin. "We want to get into one of the top two seeds and earn the first round bye. If we win both games next weekend we'll earn that second seed and put pressure on UNLV to win to stay in the number one spot."
Keeper Felix Petermann (5-5-2) made three saves, all in the first half, in posting his third shutout of the year.
"Felix played well in goal and made a couple of good saves for us," Tobin said. "Anytime you go on the road and keep your opponent off the board it's a testament to solid defense and good play from your keeper."
The Spartans, who were out shot 14-to-6, were led by Ruben Want's three attempts. Andrew Kelly, Rory Knibbs and Carlos Valdovinos each had a single shot.
UNLV (14-4-2, 6-2-1 WAC) had three dangerous chances in the match. Two came within two minutes of each other in the first half. Petermann made a save on a shot in the box and then UNLV had one go off the crossbar on a set piece.
The Spartans best opportunity came in the 72nd minute. Knibbs drove down the right side and laid the ball off to Eric Mendez at the corner of the near six. He passed it across to Want who had an open goal, but at the last second a UNLV defender slid in front of the shot and saved the apparent go ahead goal.
UNLV had a chance in the 89th minute. Danny Musovski dribbled from the right sideline into the box. He juked Petermann and was wide open in front of the goal, but sailed his attempt 20 feet over the crossbar.
The only shot on goal for either came in the first overtime period. Valdovinos' shot was stopped by the UNLV keeper, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw after a second overtime period was played.
"For this to be our second game on the road this weekend and be far from full strength, to end in a tie has to be viewed as a good result," Tobin said. "We're getting stronger and stronger mentally. We're a hard team to beat. We didn't play particularly well today and we still got a point, and four points in two games on the road. To go on the road and get those points, especially at this point in the season, is really very good."
San Jose State (6-8-2, 4-2-2 WAC) vs. UNLV (12-4-2, 6-2-1 WAC)
Date: Nov 02, 2014 Attendance: 512
Weather: 65, partly cloudy, slight wind
Goals by period 1 2 OT O2 Tot
-------------------------------------
San Jose State...... 0 0 0 0 - 0
UNLV................ 0 0 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
Shots: San Jose State 6, UNLV 14
Saves: San Jose State 3 (Petermann, Felix 3), UNLV 1 (Harding, Ryan 1)