UC Irvine
Mustangs Score Early, Fall Late versus No. 9 UC Irvine, 2-1
10/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
IRVINE, Calif. – Junior midfielder Tim White's team-leading third goal of the 2010 campaign provided the Cal Poly men's soccer program a fifth-minute lead against No. 9 UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium on Saturday evening, but the hosts closed the first half with a strike from senior forward Amani Walker and the match with an 88th-minute game-winning effort from junior midfielder Bello Alhassan to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Less than five minutes from the opening whistle, Mustang senior forward Junior Burgos earned his first point of the season by picking out White with a breakaway pass. UC Irvine goalkeeper Andrew Fontein, owner of nine clean sheets entering the match, was deftly beaten one-on-one by White, who registered Cal Poly's earliest goal in a match this season.
"It was a beautiful goal after a series of about five or six passes and Tim placed a beautiful shot," said Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher, whose Mustangs limited UC Irvine to seven shot attempts.
Cal Poly, which forced Fontein into four saves, had an effort by Burgos turned away in the 15th minute. Freshman forward Cortland Forsyth also fired wide in the 33rd before a header from junior midfielder Cameron Walters was stopped shortly before halftime.
With Cal Poly (4-4-2, 1-1-1) unable to increase it lead, the Big West Conference-leading Anteaters (10-1-1, 3-0-0) equalized 75 seconds from halftime as Walker played a quick combination with junior forward Miguel Ibarra before slotting his seventh goal of the season past Mustang junior goalkeeper Patrick McLain.
Cal Poly opened the second half with attempts from junior midfielder Jake Hustedt, Burgos and junior center back Patrick Sigler, but failed to find a second way past Fontein and the Anteaters. With a draw and a valuable Big West point in sight, however, UC Irvine senior forward Spencer Thompson heeled a pass to Alhassan 130 seconds from time. Alhassan rewarded Thompson by slipping a shot inside the right post of the Mustang net to register his first goal of the year.
"Overall, I'm proud of how we played tonight. We showed a lot of good discipline and passing. What undid us were just two unfortunate goals in minor breakdowns that we can tighten up," Holocher added. "To hold UC Irvine to seven shots on their home field was a good sign."
Cal Poly, which suffered its first loss against a ranked team this season, opens the best-attended series in the history of collegiate soccer at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Match time at Harder Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
