Sept. 3, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
UC Riverside 2, San Diego State 0
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The No. 21 San Diego State men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to UC Riverside Monday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs, who are ranked No. 21 by Top Drawer Soccer, are now 0-1-1 on the season, while the Highlanders improved to 2-0-0.
SDSU outshot UC Riverside, 14-11, for the match, including a 4-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Highlanders got on the scoreboard first in the 13th minute when Cito Soriano took a through pass from Nathan Paterson and beat San Diego State junior goalkeeper Ryan Bowie to the left side of the net.
The Aztecs had a good chance to tie the game in the 20th minute, but senior Matt Lemire's attempt from close range just cleared the top of the crossbar.
The two teams would head into halftime intermission with SDSU owning a 7-4 advantage in shots.
San Diego State came out aggressive in the second half and almost tied the game in the 55th minute when senior Kraig Chiles had his hard shot sail over the net.
A short while later, Chiles had another great attempt on net when he took a pass from the right side of the field and half-volleyed a shot with his left foot from 20 yards out. Highlander goalkeeper Charles Alamo, however, got his hand on it and tipped it over the net.
On the ensuing corner kick, sophomore Jamel Wallace headed the cross just to the right of the near post, keeping the score at 1-0.
In the 80th minute, UC Riverside took advantage of its one good scoring change in the second half when Joel Crompton took a pass from David Watson and headed the ball over Bowie's head from seven yards out.
At the 81:47 mark, sophomore preseason All-American Nick Cardenas' header attempt went wide right as SDSU would be held scoreless for the first time since Oct. 20, 2006 (a period of over seven games).
Chiles had a game-high four shots for the Aztecs, while Lemire finished with three attempts. Cardenas, Wallace and sophomore Steve Beitashour each had two shots.
Bowie, making his first collegiate start, played all 90 minutes in net and made one stop.
San Diego State will continue its four-game homestand when they play host to The Soccer Post/Aztec Classic this weekend, beginning with a match against New Jersey Institute of Technology at 4 p.m. Friday.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Senior co-captain Kraig Chiles earned Man of the Match honors after playing a solid, all-around game in the midfield for the Aztecs. Chiles, who has now started a team-long 41 consecutive matches, had a game-high four shots, including one on net.