The San José State men’s soccer team battled in a hard-fought match and earned a draw against California State University, Northridge, at Spartan Soccer Complex. 

The Spartans (4-1) tied with the Matadors (3-1) 0-0 on September 11th. 

From the opening whistle, SJSU was on the attack early, with senior defender Javier Lopez taking the first shot on goal four minutes into the game. 

SJSU associate head coach Jesus Sanchez felt good about the team’s performance. He was also a little bit disappointed because the team could not capitalize on their scoring opportunities.

“I think if we would have scored, it would have been better,” Sanchez said. “But, definitely, I think the points that we talked about, we spoke about their midfield and the quality they have in there, and how important it would be for us to dominate that area of the field. 

 Shortly after the first shot on goal, SJSU had another scoring opportunity by sophomore midfielder Cameron Cook at the sixth minute mark. 

The shot was then saved by CSUN junior goalkeeper Bryan Castaneda. 

Goalkeeper Castaneda had four saves and goalkeeper Guerra had two saves,

Both goalkeepers made great saves that helped keep both teams level for the entire match. 

Spartans senior goalkeeper Edgar Guerra, was tested early when the Matadors junior midfielder Jorge Solorzano took a shot on goal at the eleventh minute. 

“I think we created some moments. So overall, you know, we got close. But of course, we need to capitalize, on those moments, Sanchez said.

The Spartans had fifteen shots on goal while the Matadors only had eight shots on goal. SJSU also had the advantage on corner kicks with 6, while the Matadors had 4. 

SJSU had a slight series edge against the Matadors with a record of (8-6-2). 

After stopping a promising attack in the 29th minute, CSUN junior defender Siddiq Lezzar received a yellow card. 

There were four yellow cards in the first half which were given to each team. 

At the 31st minute, SJSU midfielder Angel Iniguez received a yellow card for persistent infringement. 

Four yellow cards in the first half, which were given to both teams.

Spartans senior goalkeeper Edgar Guerra, was tested early when the Matadors  junior midfielder Jorge Solorzano took a shot on goal at the 11th minute. 

Guerra was forced to make another save when Lezzar took a shot on goal at the 41st minute. 

SJSU junior midfielder Gilberto Rivera reflected on how well the team has been playing so far. 

“Well, I think we’ve been playing well,” Rivera said. “I think myself, I’ve been playing all right, not my best, but I think this might have been my best game intensity-wise. And I think we just had to prepare for Wednesday.”

Throughout the first half, both CSUN and SJSU played an even half with six corner kicks being taken combined. 

Going into halftime with the score 0-0. 

CSUN senior defender Jake Shaked received a yellow card in the 42nd minute for unsporting behavior. 

The final yellow card of the first half was given to SJSU Associate Head Coach Jesus Sanchez for dissent. 

To start the second half, the Matadors were looking to score right away when Solorzano

tested Spartans’ keeper Guerra to make a save when he took a clean shot towards the net. 

Spartans’ senior defender Niklas Dossmann explained how the team prepared for this matchup. 

“We were just excited because we knew Northridge would play a similar style to us,” Dossmann said. “It was a bit different than classic college soccer and so just a fun matchup for us.” 

CSUN came out of halftime with more intensity as they committed three physical fouls in the first two minutes of the second half.

Towards the end of the game, in the 86th minute, tensions were getting high because words were exchanged between a Matador player and the Spartans’ bench. 

San José State is scheduled to face Stanford this Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. PDT at Spartan Soccer Complex.