Oct. 1, 2015
San Jose, Calif. - The San José State men's soccer team played a man down for more than 51 minutes on Thursday night in Spartan Stadium and lost 1-0 to the Santa Clara Broncos on a 59th minute goal.
"Overall, I was pleased with our effort tonight," head coach Simon Tobin said. "We played our starters for the first 45 minutes and then pulled them out, which was our plan all along. When the regulars were in there, it was an evenly played game.
With the starting 11, the Spartans generated several dangerous scoring opportunities. In the 19th minute, freshman Eddie Saydee fired a shot from the right side of the box that Broncos keeper Kendall McIntosh turned away.
Then at the 28:57 mark, Rory Knibbs beat a defender outside the 18. He dribbled into the box and from eight yards out hammered a shot, which McIntosh just managed to parry over the crossbar. The effort saved what appeared to be a certain goal for San José State
Just over four and a half minutes later, in the 34th minute, Knibbs was at the top of the six and headed a ball just wide of the right post, which also could have given SJSU a lead.
The Spartans (2-6-0) were enjoying the better run of play, in what was a physical first half. But the momentum was lost in the 39th minute when freshman Zach Penner was sent off after being issued a red card. It was one of four cards handed out in the half, the other three were a pair of yellow cards to SJSU and one to Santa Clara. It forced San José State to play the remainder of the game a man down.
With the score 0-0 after 45 minutes, the Spartans started the second half with an entirely new line up.
"I wanted to get the players who haven't seen a lot of playing time, so far, onto the field," Tobin said. "We have a tough match on Sunday (at Incarnate Word) and it's the start of conference play. We are going to need everyone to be ready in conference. This was a good opportunity to get them on the field in a game situation."
Santa Clara (5-5-0) outshot the Spartans 15-to-5 on the night, but in shots on goal it was tied 3-to-3. The lone tally came in the 59th minute. Jonathan Jarrett took a service into the box off a corner kick and shot it just inside the far post for what would turn out to be the game winner.
Knibbs led the Spartans with three shots. Saydee and Carlos Valdovinos attempted one shot each. Emmanuel Espinoza played 45 minutes in goal and turned away the only shot which reached his line. Felix Petermann, playing in the second half, allowed one goal and made one save.
Andres Jimenez led the Broncos with three shots and McIntosh had a clean sheet with three saves.
The Spartans open Western Athletic Conference play on Sunday, October 4 when they travel San Antonio, Texas, to take on the University of Incarnate Word. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (PT) in Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. Streaming video and live stats are available on the men's soccer schedule page at www.sjsuspartans.com.
Santa Clara (5-5-0) vs. San Jose State (2-6-2)
Date: Oct 01, 2015 Attendance: 630
Weather:
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
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Santa Clara......... 0 1 - 1
San Jose State...... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY:
- 58:21 SCU(1~1 JARRETT, Jonathan (keanu mendoza) - KIcked in to the far post off a corner
Shots: Santa Clara 15, San Jose State 5
Saves: Santa Clara 3 (SIPOWICZ, Matthew 3), San Jose State 2