Oct. 11, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Despite playing without leading scorer Evan Toft (Aurora, Colo.) and a man down the final 27 minutes, 52 seconds of the match, the San Diego State men's soccer team tied No. 2 UCLA, 2-2, in double-overtime Sunday afternoon at SDSU Sports Deck. The Aztecs (3-3-4, 0-1-2 Pac-10), who also played without redshirt senior captain Jamel Wallace (San Diego/Oceanside HS) save the final 14 seconds, are now 5-1-4 against top-10 teams since they joined the Pac-10 in 2005.
Senior preseason All-American Nick Cardenas (Thornton, Colo.) was issued his second yellow card at the 82:08 mark, forcing SDSU to play with 10 men for the duration of the match. It is the third time in the last seven meetings with the Bruins (6-1-2, 1-0-2 Pac-10) that San Diego State has had to play at least one man down, a total of 112:30 shorthanded soccer.
The Aztecs rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead in the 81st minute on a header by Cardenas. The Bruins, who are ranked No. 2 by Soccer America, No. 3 by College Soccer News, No. 4 by NSCAA and Soccer Times, and No. 7 by Top Drawer Soccer, tied the match at the 82:08 mark on David Estrada's header for the final score of the game.
SDSU had the first good scoring opportunity in the eighth minute when junior Raymundo Reza (Denver, Colo.) had a low shot blocked by a UCLA defender. Redshirt sophomore Pedro Adan (San Diego/Preuss HS) corralled the loose ball but missed his attempt just left of the post.
The Bruins took advantage of their first good chance at the 14:12 mark when Kyle Nakazawa was on the receiving end of a perfect pass from Danny Suits. Suits dribbled down into the left side of San Diego State's box and sent a ball back to Nakazawa, who finished into the left side from 14 yards out.
The Aztecs tied it in the 27th minute when freshman Devon Sandoval (Albuquerque, N.M.) jumped in front of a UCLA clear attempt. The ball bounced off Sandoval and into the upper-right corner out of the reach of goalkeeper Brian Perk.
Not even a minute later, freshman Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) got through the Bruin defense and had a 1-v-1 with Perk. As Perk came out to challenge the play, Altamirano pushed it over the crossbar, keeping the match at 1-1.
At the half, SDSU held a 6-2 lead in shots.
San Diego State increased its pressure in the second 45, outshooting UCLA, 11-7. The Aztecs' first good opportunity of the half came in the 50th minute. San Diego natives and Eastlake High graduates Andre Acevedo and Daniel Ortega each had hard, low-driving attempts that were blocked by a game Bruin defender.
It appeared SDSU finally got another ball across the goal line in the 60th minute when redshirt senior captain Matt McManus (Santa Clarita, Calif.), playing his first game of the season, kicked the ball in after a collision with the Bruins' Perk. After a long delay, however, the referees called a foul on McManus, keeping the match tied at 1-1.
At the 75:50 mark, Ortega ripped a left-footed shot from just outside the box right at Brian Rowe, who replaced Perk after the McManus collision.
Less than five minutes later, San Diego State showed good possession on an offensive attack that culminated with Cardenas' header into the upper-left corner. Junior Khadim Diouf (Dakar, Senegal) sent in a cross from the left side to Cardenas, who outjumped a UCLA defender for his second goal of the season.
The Bruins mounted an attack of their own, but redshirt junior Aztec goalkeeper Brad Byrns (Alamo, Calif.) came out nicely to grab a loose ball before they could get off a quality attempt.
Following a SDSU foul, which resulted in a yellow card to the UCLA bench and a red card to a player on its bench, Nakazawa sent in a free kick to the box. Sean Alvarado headed it to Estrada, who headed in a wide-open shot for the game-tying goal.
Estrada had the Bruins last good chance in the final minute of regulation, but Byrns was there once again to make the stop for San Diego State.
After 90 minute of 2-2 soccer, the Aztecs led in both shots (17-9) and corner kicks (4-3).
Neither team had that good of a chance to score in either 10-minute overtime, except for Nakazawa's free kick that went wide left in the 108th minute.
Cardenas, Ortega and Reza each had three of SDSU's 17 shots, while redshirt senior Steve Beithashour (San Jose, Calif.) and Acevedo each attempted two apiece.
Byrns (3-3-3) played all 110 minutes for San Diego State and made five saves, passing Tim Edwards (2000-01) and Greg Cohn (1992-94) into ninth on the Aztecs' all-time save list with 81. Rowe (three) and Perk (one) combined for four stops for UCLA.
SDSU plays host to nationally ranked Stanford (4 p.m. Friday) and California (2 p.m. Sunday) next weekend, its third and fourth consecutive ranked opponent.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Junior Khadim Diouf (Dakar, Senegal) earned Man of the Match accolades for his brilliant play in the midfield and up front. Diouf assisted on the Aztecs' second goal and played 96 minutes, the most of any non-SDSU defender or goalkeeper. Diouf played good possession soccer while routinely winning 50-50 balls in the air.