The San Jose State men’s soccer team welcomed fans back to Spartan Soccer Complex with a close 3-2 defeat to Sacramento State Thursday and a dominant 5-2 victory over University of California, Davis Sunday.
The Spartans fell short of a miraculous comeback in its home opener against the Hornets after going down 2-0.
Midfielder Finlay Wood said he was proud of his team’s performance and he doesn’t blame the result of the game on any individual player.
“The cause of the loss was our own, like I said, it’s such a quick turn around now that the season has started,” Wood said. The game is on them, but we are trying to improve our mistakes and keep ourselves positive.”
It was a tough wake-up call for the Spartans early in the season.
Both teams battled aggressively to gain control of the ball in the middle of the field and emotions flared as the referee called out two fouls from the Hornets and one from Spartans.
Hornets goalkeeper Mac Learner replaced Ryan Curtis after a collision that resulted in Curtis hurting his arm. His injuries were not serious and he withdrew from the game at minute 53.
Early into the second half, Sac State scored, leaving SJSU 0-2.
However, the Spartans refused to quit and soon dominated the midfield with a vicious, direct attack.
Bringing tension, midfielder Willy Miranda scored the first goal for SJSU assisted by defender Kameron Bolden at minute 63.
The Spartans rallied back in just six minutes scoring two goals in that span.
Miranda assisted outside midfielder Omar Lemus to level the game at 2-2.
He said the game was difficult and gritty, but the team showed resilience.
“We need to attack any chance we can, we need to score,” Miranda said. “We could have come out with a win, but we need to learn from this and keep improving our game.”
Miranda also said that everyone bears responsibility to defend, not just the defence.
Head coach Simon Tobin said he instructed the team to follow a defensive tactic when they returned to the field after the first half.
“Our defensive plan was to keep the ball,” Tobin said. “That first goal, we basically gave it to them, due to lack of concentration.”
The Spartans vied for the lead, but with 10 minutes left in the match, the Hornets scored the game-winning goal.
Tobin said he felt the Spartans got complacent after tying the game.
“I think that the determining factor of the game is that when we reached 2-2, we stopped playing,” Tobin said. “Those 10 to 15 minutes, they were more dominant and unfortunately the third goal came.”
Psychology senior Jesus Soriano anticipated a victory, but also wasn’t disappointed by the performance of the team.
“It was an intense game until the end,” Soriano said. “Unfortunately, [Sac] State made that third goal, but Spartans fought through hard to the last second. It was an impressive game, I will most definitely be attending more home games.”
SJSU conquested its next home game Sunday afternoon with an historic offensive match. The Spartans captured a 5-2 win over defending Big West champion the University of California, Davis, setting their overall record for the season at 2-1.
SJSU is expected to cleat-up for its match on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. against Stanford University at the Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
