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IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine and CSUN took full advantage of their home fields as higher seeds to advance past Wednesday night’s first round of the 2022 Big West Men’s Soccer Championship.
Third-seeded UCI blanked No. 6 seed Sacramento State in Irvine, 2-0, and No. 4 seed CSUN got past No. 5 seed UC Davis in Northridge, 3-2.
The six-team tournament moves on to the semifinal round this Saturday, Nov. 5. Second-seeded reigning champion UC Santa Barbara will host UC Irvine, while top-seeded regular-season champion UC Riverside welcomes in CSUN. Both kickoff times are slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The championship game is set for the following Saturday, Nov. 12, at a time to be determined, on the campus of the highest remaining seed. The champion will once again earn The Big West’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.
No. 3 seed UC Irvine 2, No. 6 seed Sacramento State 0
Box Score | UCI presser | SACpresser
IRVINE, Calif. - Third-seeded host UC Irvine got off to a strong start and rode that momentum to a 2-0 victory over No. 6 seed Sacramento State in the first game of the 2022 Big West Men’s Soccer Championship Wednesday night at Anteater Stadium.
With the result, UC Irvine improves to 6-11-2 overall. It was a second straight win for just the second time this year for the Anteaters, who are an unbeaten 4-0-1 over their last five. Sacramento State, making a first postseason appearance since 2017, saw its campaign ended at 9-8-2.
The ‘Eaters had also blanked the Hornets in Irvine in the regular-season meeting, 1-0, back on Oct. 8 on a 54th-minute strike by repeat All-Big West First Team selection Ashish Chattha.
The home side put together a dominant first 25-plus minutes, and was rewarded with the game’s opening goal in the 15th, ironically again by Chattha. Francesco Montanile dribbled down the left flank and crossed into the middle, where Diego Otoya laid the ball off to the top of the 18-yard box for Chattha. The senior midfielder’s first-timed, right-footed shot took a deflection in front and wrong-footed Hornet goalkeeper Edgar Guerra, finding the back of the net neatly on the left side.
It was Chattha’s team-best fourth goal of 2022, all coming in the last month, while Otoya (second) and Montanile (third) picked up assists.
UC Irvine ultimately produced the first nine shots of the contest with four of them on target. The ‘Eaters’ best chances at doubling their advantage came in the 17th via Eddy Berumen as Guerra denied him at the near post from close range following another left-sided cross, and in the 22nd from Robert Mejia, whose left-footer from distance whizzed just outside of the right post.
Sacramento State finally managed its first attempt in the 27th minute. Jaime Robles put a strong header on a deep free kick into the penalty area, but UCI goalie Luke Pruter got down to his right to slap it out for a corner kick.
UC Irvine did in fact double its lead in the 71st minute on a magnificent combination goal. Berumen and Mejia played a perfect give-and-go down the right side, and nearing the end line, Berumen crossed toward the near post, where Otoya gained enough separation from his defender to knock the ball into the upper right for a second goal this year. The assists were the third each for Berumen and Mejia.
Pruter made three saves in the UC Irvine goal. The sophom*ore had come up with two stops in that 1-0 shutout over the Hornets last month, and now has three clean sheets for the season, including two in succession. Guerra wound up with five saves. UCI held a 16-9 advantage in shots.
No. 4 seed CSUN 3, No. 5 seed UC Davis 2
Box Score | CSUNpresser
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - CSUN gave up the game’s first goal early on but exploded from there for a season-high three goals en route to a 3-2 triumph over UC Davis in a first-round tilt of the 2022 Big West Men’s Soccer Championship at Matador Soccer Field on Wednesday night.
With a second straight win and fourth in its last five, fourth-seeded CSUN moves to 9-5-4 overall. UC Davis, the No. 5 seed, concludes its 2022 season at 5-9-4.
The Aggies had edged the Matadors, 1-0, also in Northridge, on Oct. 8 in the regular-season matchup. The goal was scored by Ryan Dieter in the 12th minute. Aggie goalie Charles Janssen had six saves in the shutout.
The visitors were again quick to the scoreboard on this night as Ethan Hoard put them up 1-0 at just the 8:17 mark. Max Glasser’s right-sided cross was deflected out by a defender, but only to Hoard, who took a touch to settle and produced a left-footer on the ground from 16 yards that hit a Matador and trickled over the line. The goal was Hoard’s team-leading third, with Glasser gaining credit for his team-best fourth assist.
In the 40th minute, the score was level at 1-1. Jamar Ricketts played reserve forward Edson Palos into space down the right flank. Palos took one touch forward into the penalty area, and with his second, managed a clever shot with the outside of his left foot from that right diagonal, into the back of the net. The goal was the first of 2022 for Palos, who had only appeared in five games thus far and not since Oct. 5. Ricketts’ third assist temporarily gave the New Jersey native a share of the team lead.
CSUN came out of the halftime interval and wrestled control, earning credit for two shots and two corner kicks before Jack Rhead gave it the 2-1 lead at 51:12. Dylan Gonzalez sprinted into the penalty box down the right diagonal and played in a cross just before reaching the end line. All Rhead had to do was tap into the empty net from three yards.
It was Rhead’s third of 2022. The first-year transfer has now hit the target in consecutive contests after having grabbed his first all the way back on Sept. 4. The assist was a team-best fourth for Gonzalez, while senior Marvin Arias was also credited with a first helper.
A mere 105 seconds later, CSUN was on its way at 3-1 thanks to a brilliant individual effort by Ricketts. The third-year sophom*ore forward bided his time with the ball heading up the field on the left side before unleashing an exquisite right-footed shot from 20 yards straight on into the upper right. The unassisted tally was Ricketts’ team-best fifth, and went down as the All-Big West First Team selection’s fourth decider.
UC Davis certainly made things interesting at the end, grabbing a second at the 86:31 mark. Zachary Batchelder’s direct free kick from outside of 25 yards came off a defender and right back to him. The sophom*ore substitute forward dribbled up five yards and hit another right-footer into the bottom right for a lone goal on the season. The Santa Rosa product’s only prior collegiate tally was also against CSUN, to cap the scoring of a 5-0 Aggie romp in Davis on Oct. 17, 2021.
Cooper Wenzel, an All-Big West Second Team pick, equaled a career high of seven saves for CSUN. Janssen finished with two stops in this one for UC Davis, which held a 15-9 edge in shots for the contest.
The Matadors had last scored three times in a game on Sept. 29, 2021, at home in a 4-3 defeat to CSU Bakersfield. CSUN in fact had lost four in a row to UC Davis since a 3-0 decision in Northridge on Oct. 6, 2018. The Matadors were outscored 10-2 in those four defeats, with three straight shutout losses. The stretch began with a 3-2 Aggie win at CSUN in another first-round meeting of the 2018 Big West Championship. The Matadors and Aggies were also seeded No. 4 and No. 5 then.
