Sports Editor
The CSU Bakersfield men’s soccer team hosted the third-annual Kicks for a Cause charity event on Saturday against Stanford at the Main Soccer Field.
“We have to make sure that the community knows that we have a fun environment,” said CSUB Athletic Director Kenneth Siegfried. “This is our (third) year to do it, and basically what we try to do is tie-in a charity event and bring in a premier team like the national championship Stanford team.”
The attendance for the event totaled 1,467 people. Fans were encouraged to bring their gently used soccer equipment that was donated to the local Mighty Kicks organization.
“I was a special night. Fantastic crowd,” said CSUB head soccer coach Richie Grant. “1,500 people coming out for a spring game is impressive. So we enjoyed the occasion and the boys and staff put in a lot of work into making it a good night and I thought our performance backed it up.”
Grant also said that the players never let the program down when being not only good athletes but also good role models away from the field as well.
“I just thought that’s a great cause for the community,” said CSUB junior forward Hugo Vinales. “Also, great support for our team.”
The Roadrunners were unable to pull out the upset against the Cardinals in a 3-2 loss, but saw hope early in the game when Vinales scored a goal in the first 39 seconds of the match, which got the crowd going.
The biggest goal of the game came from Stanford senior forward Mark Verso when he scored a free kick from about 25 yards out that gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
“The free kick really changed the game,” said Grant. “It was a great strike.”
In the 30th minute Stanford junior defender Drew Skundrich scored an impressive goal from 35-yards deep to tie the score at one.
The Cardinals took the lead right before halftime after sophomore midfielder Amir Bashti was taken down inside the box which awarded Stanford the penalty kick. Senior defender Brian Sinkam-Nana converted the penalty for the Cardinals.
The Roadrunners looked to get back in the match after a goal in the 76th minute from senior forward Simon Doherty but were held by the Cardinals the rest of the way.
