Friday night featured the first of many at San Diego State Sports Deck as the SDSU men’s soccer team hosted the California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners in the season opener. But a win was not in the books as the Aztecs were condemned to a 1-0 defeat against the Roadrunners.
SDSU might look back on this match and be disappointed as they had numerous opportunities to score, including a wide-open tap-in for sophomore midfielder Pablo Vasquez who sent his shot into the sky.
“We weren’t clinical enough around the box, we weren’t courageous enough to attack into the box,” Aztecs’ head coach Lev Kirshner said.
Bakersfield freshman defender Jamie Carey-Morrell scored a goal connecting into the top corner from 20 yards away in the eighth minute for the only goal of the match.
For the next 30 minutes the Roadrunners’ midfielders controlled the game, resulting in sloppy passing with just two decent chances in the first half for the Aztecs.
“Their [ball] circulation was very fast and efficient,” Kirshner said. “They did a very good job in getting numerical superiority for their players. It’s something we have to start to do.”
SDSU sophomore midfielder Pablo Vasquez’s free kick from 25-yards went just high and wide of the goal. Freshman forward Donald Benamna had an opportunity from short distance just a few minutes later, but he blasted it over the stands.
“We started out conservative, definitely let them take over the first half,” Kirshner said, “[We] weren’t sharp on the dead ball; the one goal came from a dead ball.”
The tide shifted in the Aztecs’ favor late in the first half with the introduction of junior defender Luis Alvarado.
“We started getting the ball, better possession,” Kirshner said.
The second half started with two great chances for SDSU. Sophomore defender Julio Alarcon’s long throw-in was not completely punched away by CSUB’s goalkeeper Nicolas Clever. Alvarado nearly took advantage of the confusion, but his shot from just outside the penalty area flew just over the crossbar.
Minutes later Vasquez had another opportunity to score when freshman forward David Olsen ran free on the left and drew Clever out of his goal, leaving Vasquez unmarked from 12 yards away with a wide-open goal. Instead, the sophomore shanked Olsen’s pass and the Roadrunners breathed a sigh of relief.
Freshman midfielder Ozzie Ramos almost scored on a spectacular 25-yard strike, but it was well-saved by Clever. Ramos then had another opportunity after the Roadrunners couldn’t clear it out of their penalty area. The ball eventually fell to him and his half-volley from 30 yards out flew inches over the bar.
Alarcon also had a great chance from a cross into the box, but his header was saved by Clever.
Despite outshooting the Roadrunners 13-6, the Aztecs couldn’t find an equalizer.
“We’ve got a lot to work on with a new team, there’s a lot of promise,” Kirshner said.
He also mentioned that the team hasn’t played alongside each other much, this being their second game of the season, including the friendly at University of San Diego nearly two weeks ago.
Kirshner concluded, “It’s going to take some time.”
