by Josh Bennett
Staff Writer
Sophomore midfielder Christian Duarte
sprints to the ball.
Scoring twice in the first half, the men’s soccer team started out hot, and was able to hold off Houston Baptist by the score of 2-1, Friday at the main soccer field. The first came courtesy of midfielder Jonathan Colunga, the first of his collegiate career.
“I got a pass from Christian [Duarte], and the first thing I thought was to just hit it. I just used my toe and it went right into the net, so I was happy,” said Colunga.
The deciding goal was scored late into the first half by midfielder David Velasquez. The win moved them into a tie for second in the WAC standings as of Friday.
CSUB (5-7-2, 3-2-1 WAC) was in control for the first half of the game. Even with the two goals, the `Runners had many other opportunities to capitalize off of sloppy play from Houston Baptist.
The first goal came early in the first half when Colunga found a hole in the struggling Huskie defense and scored to give the `Runners the early confidence boost.
The second goal came late in the first half. After a few missed scoring opportunities off of Houston Baptist miscues, Velasquez finally scored off a cross from forward Hugo Vinales.
Junior midfielder Joe Masumiya takes a
shot against Houston Baptist.
“Hugo [Vinales] just ran with it, he [saw] me behind the defender, so he passed it to me, I just took one touch and just smacked it [in the goal],” said Velasquez.
“It was a team that we probably could have done a little bit more damage against. I thought we came out probably as well as we have this year in the first 40 minutes, and we should have put the game to bed,” said Head Coach Simon Tobin. “I thought we purposely tried to come out with a little bit more vigor today, it’s always good to go goals up, no matter what the time is.”
Many `Runner opportunities were halted, thanks to 12 offsides calls, while others were either from missed opportunities or from mistakes of their own.
Junior midfielder Joe Masumiya takes a shot against Houston Baptist.
“We were playing good, we just need to finish the [opportunities] we had,” said Velasquez.
In the second half, the `Runners seemed to play more conservatively, allowing the Huskies
more chances in the box. This eventually led to a HBU goal late in the second half.
“Because we’re so young, we’re still a little bit fragile, we’re not putting teams away, and
giving them a little bit of hope to get back into the game. I just think it’s our youth,” said Tobin.
“When I mean fragile, just mentally, we’re not ready to really go for the jugular and put teams away yet.”
However, the `Runners were able to hold off the Huskies. HBU threatened with a couple of shots and corner kicks late in the game, but the `Runner defense was able to hold them off and win.
“A win is always the most important thing. I thought we played really well in the first half, some nice stuff, but in the end it became more of a grind out victory, but with a young team, you’ll take it however they come,” said Tobin.
Junior midfielder Joe Masumiya takes a
shot against Houston Baptist.
On Sunday, the `Runners defeated Kansas City 2-0, in the first ever matchup of the two schools. With goals by Vinales and Colunga, the victory gives the `Runners sole possession of second place in the WAC.The `Runners won three out of four home games during their homestand, which helps their seeding for the upcoming WAC tournament which starts on Nov. 14. The `Runners will travel to Grand Canyon on Friday, Nov.1, and will go to Air Force on Sunday, Nov. 3.
