Cal State Northridge
Cal State Northridge Forces 2-2 Draw with Cal Poly
10/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly men's soccer junior midfielder Tim White scored shortly before halftime and senior forward David Zamora converted a penalty in the 67th minute on Wednesday evening, but a pair of goals off free kicks from Cal State Northridge junior midfielder Rafael Garcia during a four-minute span in the second half allowed the Matadors to draw the Mustangs at Alex G. Spanos Stadium, 2-2.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brett Finkelstein matched a season high with six saves for the Mustangs (4-3-2, 1-0-1), who were denied a chance to share first place atop the Big West Conference standings with No. 9 UC Irvine, which dealt UC Davis a 3-0 defeat earlier Wednesday. Cal Poly, which stayed unbeaten in seven matches versus Cal State Northridge (2-6-2, 1-0-1) under fifth-year head coach Paul Holocher, travels to UC Irvine for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday, Oct. 9.
"This was a tie that felt like a loss and we're all disappointed we didn't come away with three points tonight," Holocher said. "We gave up two direct set-piece goals within four minutes after being up 2-0. There are some valuable lessons in here for the team about how to manage a match, how not to concede fouls in dangerous areas and how to play with conviction and high concentration for a full game."
The Mustangs registered eight shot attempts during the first half before junior midfielder Wes Feighner played a pass into White from the left side of the Matador penalty area. White collected the pass and fired his second goal of the season over Cal State Northridge sophomore goalkeeper Michael Abalos and into the top right portion of the Matador net.
Zamora opened Cal Poly's second half by sneaking past the Matador defense in the 48th minute before being denied by a sprawling Abalos.
Cal State Northridge's chances to equalize came in quick succession midway through the second half. In the 53rd minute, sophomore midfielder Gustavo Villalobos clanged his attempt off the left post of the Mustang net. Three minutes later, Garcia had one of his free kicks turned away by Finkelstein before another rocketed attempt by Villalobos in the 64th found the crossbar.
With Matador chances being squandered, Cal Poly doubled its advantage through Zamora's first goal of the season. Already sitting on a yellow card, Matador junior midfielder Nicholas Hamilton handled the ball inside his own penalty area to draw instant disqualification. Zamora (above) stepped to the spot and buried his fourth career penalty and Cal Poly's seventh-straight successful conversion into the bottom left corner of the Matador net.
Cal State Northridge, however, was finally rewarded for its offensive surge in the 71st minute. Following a Mustang foul a yard outside of the penalty box, Villalobos tapped a pass to Garcia who fired a shot past Finkelstein. After another Mustang foul four minutes later, Garcia buried an unassisted attempt yards from where he bagged his first goal of the night.
Whistled offside four times, Cal Poly's best chance to seize victory late came during the 106th minute, but senior forward Junior Burgos cracked his attempt just over the Matador crossbar.
Burgos registered a season-high seven of Cal Poly's 25 shot attempts. Freshman forward George Malki placed two of his career-high four attempts on goal.
