Oct. 23, 2015
BERKELEY, Calif. - San Diego State men's soccer came from behind to force overtime against California on Friday, but succumbed to a double overtime goal, falling 4-3 to the Golden Bears.
The loss moves the Aztecs to 1-5-0 in Pac-12 play, 6-6-2 overall, and is San Diego State's first overtime loss this season. California notches its first win in conference play, improving to 1-3-2 against league opponents, and now has a 6-5-2 overall mark.
California got the match going early with a goal just 46 seconds in. Christian Thierjung picked up a loose ball in the box and chipped it just inside the right post for the early 1-0 lead.
But at the 13-minute mark, the Aztecs knotted the score at 1-1. Casey Macias took a hard shot from 11 yards out, forcing Jonathan Klinsmann to swipe away the ball. It went directly to the left foot of Rene Reyes, who tapped the ball past the left post to tie the match.
The Golden Bears snatched back their lead 85 seconds later when Paul Saucedo received a cross from Nick Lima and fired it just inside the goal for the 2-1 score.
California built on its lead 11 minutes later. Spencer Held received a chipped-in touch from just inside the Aztecs' third and fired a shot to Adam Allmaras. Allmaras knocked away the ball with a diving stop, but the rebound bounced directly Thierjung, who left-footed in the 3-1 goal.
Dallin Cutler had an opportunity to slice California's lead to 3-2 in the 36th minute. The sophomore was taken down inside the top left corner of the box and was issued a penalty kick. The ensuing shot was hard and low to the right side of the goal, but Jonathan Klinsmann laid down to make the save.
Prime positioning by the Aztecs in the 53rd minute resulted in the Scarlet and Black making it a one-goal match. Aleks Berkolds played the ball into the eight-yard box behind the California defense to Jeroen Meefout. Meefout tried to left-foot in a shot and the California defender attempted to kick it away but the ball bounced past Klinsmann and into the net.
San Diego State continued to attack and its offensive pressure paid off in the 85th minute. Travis Nicklaw, a member of Guam's Men's National Team, rocketed a missile from 25 yards out and the ball tucked into the upper right corner of the net for the Aztecs' match-tying goal at 3-3. It was Nicklaw's second match-tying tally of the season.
Reyes was almost able to hand San Diego State the match-winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime period. He raced through a trio of defenders and fired a shot from 10 yards out but the ball sailed just wide of the right post.
Just under six minutes into the second overtime period, however, the Golden Bears got the golden goal. Jose Carrera-Garcia sent a touch just outside the 18-yard box to Thierjung, who fired a blast from just inside the top left corner of the box past Allmaras' left side for the final 4-3 win.
San Diego State out-shot its opponent for the third-straight match, out-shooting California, 18-16. Cutler led the Aztecs with a season-best five shots. Allmaras' mark fell to 4-6-2, as he made seven saves to Klinsmann's five. The Aztecs took seven corners to the Golden Bears' three.
The Aztecs continue their tour of the Bay Area with a trip to No. 3/2 Stanford on Mon., Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Travis Nicklaw is the Aztecs' Man of the Match after scoring the match-tying goal in the 85th minute. The San Diego native, and a member of Guam's Men's National Team, rocketed a missile from 25 yards out and the ball tucked into the upper right corner of the net for the Aztecs' third and match-tying goal at 3-3. He spent 99 minutes on the pitch, starting at centerback.