Oct. 17, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
The San Diego State men's soccer team dropped a close 2-1 game to Oregon State Friday afternoon in San Diego. It was the first loss for the Aztecs (3-6-2, 1-1-2 Pac-10) in Pac-10 play, while the Beavers improved to 4-6-3 overall and 1-2-1 in league action.
SDSU overcame a sluggish start to arguably dominant the final two-thirds of the match. Over the final 59 minutes, San Diego State outshot Oregon State, 15-4, and held an impressive 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The Beavers got on the scoreboard just 4 minutes, 26 seconds into the match when Danny Mwanga knocked in his first of two goals on the afternoon. On the play, Robby Christner sent in a hard cross from the left side that hit Mwanga's chest and bounced into the net from five yards.
Then, in the 21st minute, Mike Epple almost made it 2-0 when he chipped Christner's corner kick to the far post. However, Aztec senior co-captain Danny Ortiz (Palmdale, Calif.) was there to clear the ball out of the box.
That was the last good scoring chance for the Beavers for the rest of the game save its second goal on a counterattack in the 49th minute.
The tide arguably began to turn when sophomore Michael Rocha (Pasadena, Calif.) entered the game in the 38th minute. Less than one minute into the match, Rocha used his speed to get past a defender on the right side and fired a shot that was knocked out of bounds by the Oregon State goalkeeper Mike Miller. Rocha had two more scoring chances over the next two minutes, one that he just pushed high and another that was saved once again by Miller.
Early in the second half, the Beavers caught a break when a SDSU defender tackled a ball away from an Oregon State player against the run of the play. The ball pushed forward to Mwanga who beat Maestas on a breakaway goal for his fourth tally of the season.
San Diego State kept the pressure on, as Rocha continued to wreak havoc up front. In the 61st minute, Rocha once again got inside a Beaver defender and took a shot that was saved nicely by Miller. Rocha then had his rebound attempt blocked.
The offensive pressure finally led to a goal at the 61:56 mark. After an Oregon State foul, sophomore Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) sent in a cross to the far post where junior Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo.) headed the ball across the box to redshirt junior Matt McManus (Santa Clarita, Calif.). McManus then calmly headed the ball into the left corner for his fourth goal of the season.
The Aztecs had many more scoring opportunities, including their best chances in the 70th and 82nd minute, respectively. At the 69:54 mark, freshman Daniel Steres (Calabasas, Calif.) just missed high on a corner kick by junior Evan Toft (Aurora, Colo.) Toft's creative play almost led to a second SDSU goal at the 81:10 mark when he beat two Beaver defenders and raced down the left side. Toft then dumped a pass back to Cardenas who blasted a shot from 18 yards high over the crossbar.
For the game, San Diego State outshot Oregon State, 19-12. Rocha had six shots, including three on net, in 53 minutes, while McManus added four attempts. Cardenas, a M.A.C. Hermann Award candidate contributed three shots with Steres chipping in with two more attempts.
Maestas (1-3-0) played all 90 minutes and made one save, while Miller was called upon to make six stopsfor the Beavers.
The Aztecs will be back in action Sunday when they play host to No. 23 Washington at noon.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Redshirt junior Matt McManus (Santa Clarita, Calif.) earned Man of the Match honors for his solid play on both sides of the ball. McManus, who last week was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week, scored the team's only goal and was dominating throughout the game in the air. McManus played 70 minutes and had four shots.