By Carlos Jimenez (@carlosjimmenezz):
The San Jose State men’s soccer team (2-5) suffered a 5-2 defeat to the University of San Francisco (2-7).
These two teams last met in the 2014-15 season so it came as no surprise that San Jose State was not prepared for USF’s turf which caused many SJSU players to slip and fall.
One of these slips left the Spartan defense out of position which led to USF’s first goal of the match.
USF went into the half up 3-0 with the other two goals coming off a designed free-kick and a penalty shot.
SJSU’s starting lineup featured seven underclassmen. This youthful side was effective on counterattacks because they were able to consistently outpace USF and create dangerous opportunities on goal.
The second half had a promising start for the Spartans. A cross that the USF goalkeeper could not clear led to a tap-in goal for junior forward Zach Penner, which was his first of the season.
On San Jose State’s very next possession, freshman midfielder Eduardo Buenfil also scored his first goal of the season. Buenfil’s goal came from a long-range strike that took a friendly deflection off a defender.
The Spartans comeback bid was shut down by USF’s fourth goal off a corner kick that was shortly followed by a clever chip over the sophomore goalkeeper David Heredia for their fifth and final goal of the match.
San Jose State’s next match will be a home game on Sunday, Sept. 24 against the University of San Diego.