By Gabriel Luis (@gabelun):
Coming off a much needed win last week, San Jose State’s men’s soccer team (2-4-0) struggled against California State University Northridge (3-2-0) Thursday on the road, losing 2-1.
This was a big opportunity for SJSU to kick off a winning streak, but CSU Northridge proved that would not be an easy task.
During the first half, the game was quite even and both teams faired pretty well, although, CSU Northridge had a slight edge. Within the first 10 minutes of the game. The first goal came from CSU Northridge’s junior forward Michael Flores.
As tensions rose throughout the contest, the only thing to show for it by the end of the first half was the high foul count.
Following the break, the Matadors kept on pushing as they were able to score a second goal, this time coming from their senior forward, Emmanuel Usen Jr.
As the Matadors began to find their momentum, they kept to a very aggressive style of soccer like that displayed in the first half.
As the second half slowly moved into the last 20 minutes, SJSU’s top goal scorer, senior forward Jeremy Romero, managed to notch a consolation goal off of a cross from freshman midfielder Max Allen. The Spartans began to show more energy following this goal and seemed poised to score an equalizer.
A high foul count and six yellow cards led to an intense match, but the Spartans fell on the short end.
After Thursday’s defeat, SJSU has a lot to work on if it plans to be a contender in the future.
The Spartans will look to get back on track Sunday night when they take on the University of Pacific at 7 p.m.