RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Arnold Matshazi scored the go-ahead goal and tallied an assist and Edgar Guerra recorded his eighth shutout of the season to lead the fourth seeded San José State men’s soccer team (11-3-4, 3-2-2 WAC) in a 4-0 victory over the fifth seed San Diego State (7-9-2, 3-2-2 WAC) in the WAC Tournament Quarterfinals from CBU Stadium.
The Spartans controlled possession for much of the match—62% overall—and outshot the Aztecs 19–10, with nine shots on goal compared to six for San Diego State.
San José State’s attack was led by Arnold Matshazi, who opened the scoring in the 35th minute with his team-leading 11th goal of the season, assisted by Dane Pendleton. After halftime, the Spartans’ offense surged, adding three more goals to put the game out of reach.
In the 64th minute, Cameron Cook doubled the lead, finishing from outside the box off a pass from Matshazi to make it 2–0. The Spartans capitalized late as Jesper Bakli netted his first collegiate goal in the 87th minute, assisted by Pendleton and goalkeeper Guerra, who earned the rare goalkeeper assist. Just 27 seconds later, Amir Anwary scored his first goal as a Spartan off a setup from Anthony Guzman to seal the 4–0 win.
Guerra anchored the Spartan defense with a five-save shutout, earning his 11th win of the season.
San Diego State played the final 25 minutes down a man after goalkeeper Trevor Wilson was shown a red card for denying a scoring opportunity. The Aztecs finished the match with two red cards.
- The Spartans advanced to the WAC Tournament semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years
- The Spartans have won 11 games in a season for the first time since 2005
- The Spartans recorded their eighth shutout of the season, their most in a season since 2000 when they recorded 14 shutouts
- This is the first time the Spartans shutout San Diego State since 2004
- Four goals is the most the Spartans have scored in a game all season
- The last time the Spartans scored four goals was in a 4-1 victory over Sacramento State on Sept. 22, 2023.
- Matshazi scored his 11th goal of the season, the most goals in a season for the Spartans since Rory Knibbs scored 11 goals in 2015
- Matshazi’s 11 goals are the second most in the WAC this season
- Matshazi’s assist was the first of his career
- Five of Matshazi’s 11 goals this season have been game-winners, tying him for second most in the nation
- Cook’s goal was his second of the season and fifth of his career
- Pendleton registered a career-high two assists in the game
- Pendleton now has three assists on the season
- Bakli now has four points this season while Anwary has three
- Guerra now has 38 saves this season and a .899 save percentage
- Gilberto Rivera registered a team save in the game
- Guzman notched his second assist of the season and eighth of his career
- The Spartans are looking for their first conference championship since 2003
- The Spartans have qualified for the WAC Tournament nine seasons in a row and have made the WAC Tournament final four times under Coach Tobin, including twice in the last three seasons
- The Spartans are also making a 13th all-time appearance in the WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament, marking the most trips to the soccer championship in conference history
UP NEXT: The Spartans will face the hosts and the one seed, Cal Baptist, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. from CBU Stadium. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
#AllSpartans