San José, Calif. – San José State earned an early lead and rallied from a late deficit before ultimately being dealt a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat on Sunday against Houston Baptist.
Juniors Nicolas Brenes and Rodolfo Castro each tallied goals, yet it was the Huskies who escaped with an overtime victory on a 94th minute goal.
The Spartans finished the afternoon with a huge 24-12 shot advantage against the visitors from Houston. It was Brenes who led the club on the afternoon, taking seven shots with three of them on frame.
"Any time you can outshoot a team like that you have to like your odds," said head coach Simon Tobin after the match. "So I thought we played quite well. We dominated for most of the game but missed some easy chances there."
Scoring its seventh straight goal dating back to its last match, Tobin's team drew first blood in the contest's 12th minute. Defender Omar Lemus was able to feather a touch to Brenes, who controlled the ball with a pair of dribbles before firing a laser into the corner of the net.
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— San José State Men's Soccer (@SanJoseStateMS) October 6, 2019
The hosts would eventually trail 2-1 at the halftime break before mounting a second half rally.
Castro was the one who would come through with the equalizer, taking advantage of a penalty kick with a right-footed dart that sailed over the keeper's head and just underneath the crossbar.
Sticking with an attacking mindset, San José State earned plenty of good looks at the lead in the final stages of regulation. The team had an agonizing four shots (two from Castro, one from Brenes and Willy Miranda) hit the woodwork in the final 15 minutes, keeping the match level and sending it into the extra session.
That's where Houston Baptist would ultimately win it, scoring four minutes into overtime for a 3-2 victory. The match marked the Spartans second overtime contest of the season and their first of conference play.
The club now sets its sights on its first road trip of the WAC season, kicking off its desert swing on Friday at Grand Canyon. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. in what will be a rematch of last year's conference title game.