Stockton, Calif. – San José State fought through plenty of adversity and challenges on Tuesday but were ultimately dealt a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat on the road against Pacific.
Junior Rodolfo Castro tallied his team's first goal of the season, yet it was the Tigers (1-1) who escaped with a victory off a 94th minute goal in overtime.
The Spartans (0-2) finished the night with a 13-11 shot advantage against a Pacific team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. It was Castro and fellow junior Max Allen who led the club for a second straight match with three shots a piece.
Down both a man and a goal after an 18th minute penalty kick and 40th minute red card, a resilient SJSU side refused to quit. The strength would pay off in the 44th minute as the visitors pulled level, evening the score on a free kick from Castro taken from outside the box.
The forward hit a banger over the wall and inside the outstretched arms of the keeper, scoring the club's first goal of the season just before the halftime whistle.
San José State ended the contest with four shots on frame to just two for the hosts.
With both teams down to 10 men late, a defensive second half finally began to open up in the final minutes of regulation. The Spartans were able to get a pair of good looks in the final nine minutes but shots from Allen and midfielder Eduardo Buenfil just missed to send the match to overtime.
That's where the Tigers would ultimately win it, scoring four minutes into the extra session for a 2-1 victory. The match marked the program's first overtime contest since its memorable penalty kick shootout victory in the first round of last year's WAC Championships.
San José State now sets its sights to its next match, putting a lid on its first road trip of the season on Friday at Santa Clara. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. against the rival Broncos.
