Indiana
Bernardi, Mustangs Upend No. 18 Indiana, 1-0
9/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Forward Chris Bernardi's first official goal as a member of the Cal Poly men's soccer program came at the opportune moment as the sophomore's 83rd-minute strike helped the Mustangs open the Notre Dame-hosted Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament with a 1-0 victory against six-time national champion and No. 18 Indiana on Friday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
Re-inserted into the match during the 75th minute, Bernardi (right) – who finished with a team-best four shot attempts and three of Cal Poly's five shots on target – collected a header won by senior forward David Zamora and, near the far post, fired the match-winning strike past Indiana goalkeeper Luis Soffner. Zamora was credited with his second assist of the season for Cal Poly (2-1-0), which earned its first victory against a nationally-ranked program since defeating UCLA, 1-0, during the Nov. 21, 2008 opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The scoreless first half yielded just an eighth-minute shot on goal by Bernardi, an offseason transfer from Loyola Marymount. Mustang junior goalkeeper Patrick McLain was equal to the task at the other end of Alumni Stadium, recording a pair of saves and surviving five Indiana (1-2-0) corners.
Cal Poly's offense provided a more concentrated attack during the second half, with Zamora being turned away twice by Soffner during the opening 10 minutes. A 60th-minute attempt by Mustang sophomore midfielder Chris Gaschen was blocked before a shot from Bernardi was foiled by Soffner 30 seconds later.
However, Bernardi – who scored twice in 17 matches at Loyola Marymount last season before notching two goals during Cal Poly's Aug. 28 exhibition victory against UC Santa Cruz – was able to break through for the Mustangs seven minutes from time.
"Things started out slow and that may have had something to do with the travel. As the game went on, however, we were able to develop more and more chances," fifth-year Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher said. "We did a good job containing (Indiana forward) Will Bruin. (Freshman) Connor Drechsler matched up well and to mark out one of the best forwards in college soccer indicates a bright future for him."
Senior forward Junior Burgos recorded one shot attempt in his 2010 debut for the Mustangs after missing Cal Poly's initial two matches following his Sept. 1 call up by the El Salvador Men's National Team.
McLain and sophomore Chris Violas, who played the final 20 minutes in goal for Cal Poly, totaled three saves apiece to combine on the clean sheet.
Cal Poly completes the Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Sunday, Sept. 12 against Notre Dame at 11 a.m. GameTracker for the match is available above.
"This was an excellent road win for us versus a good team," Holocher added. "While we're excited, we'd like to win the tournament and now we'll shift our focus toward a very good Notre Dame team."
