Sept. 15, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
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Junior Omar Persad and freshman Khadim Diouf each scored their first goals of the season to help the San Diego State men's soccer team defeat Cal State Bakersfield, 2-0, Saturday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. It was the second straight 2-0 shutout for the Aztecs, who improved to 2-2-1 on the season.
SDSU outshot the Roadrunners (2-3-1), 10-1, including a 5-0 advantage in the first half. In fact, Cal State Bakersfield, which came into Saturday averaging 11.4 shots per game, didn't get its first shot until the 76th minute when Towa Manda's attempt went wide left.
In a physical game that featured a combined nine yellow cards and 30 fouls, the San Diego State defense shined once again led by sophomore preseason All-American Nick Cardenas. The 6-5 Cardenas was brilliant in the air and was the main reason why the Roadrunners did not get a shot off on either of their nine corner kick attempts. Junior Myles Davis, sophomore Jamel Wallace (San Diego/Oceanside HS) and freshman Raymundo Reza also played well in the back for the Aztecs, who have yielded just five shots, none on goal, over the last two matches.
Persad got SDSU on the board in the fourth minute in a play set up by sophomore Steve Beitashour. Beitashour beat a Cal State Bakersfield defender on the right wing and sent a left-footed cross to a wide-open Persad. Persad settled the ball and beat Roadrunner goalkeeper Steve Trojanowski with a low shot to right side of the net.
Diouf's first career goal in the 63rd minute sealed the game for San Diego State. Wallace cleared a ball out to Diouf who managed to outjump Trojanowski and a Cal State Bakersfield defender to the ball and head it up in the air. After another bounce, Diouf headed the ball over Trojanowski to wrap up the scoring for the Aztecs.
SDSU had some other chances to score, but Trojanowski made some quality saves to keep the Roadrunners in the game. The first good stop came in the 2nd minute when sophomore Evan Toft ripped a shot to the upper-right corner where Trojanowski pushed the ball out of bounds to his left. He made another diving save on San Diego State junior Nick Collins' blast from 25 yards away in the waning minutes of the first half.
Twenty-one Aztecs saw action in the game and eight had at least one shot attempt. Diouf and sophomore Kyle Crain had two shots to pace the offense.
Freshman goalkeeper Brad Byrns improved to 2-1-1 on the season with his second straight shutout. He played all 90 minutes and did not record a save.
San Diego State travels to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the UNLV Tournament on Friday and Saturday. SDSU takes on Missouri State at 5 p.m. Friday before meeting Drake University at 5 p.m. Saturday.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Sophomore Nick Cardenas earned Man of the Match as he helped the Aztec defense limit Cal State Bakersfield to just one shot attempt in the game. Cardenas controlled the play in the air as the Roadrunners did not get a shot attempt off in nine corner kicks. Cal State Bakersfield's first shot didn't come until the 76th minute.