By Jose Trujillo (@jAy_Ay_T):
How quickly things can change. Just 10 days ago, the San Jose State men’s soccer team (5-9-1, 3-3-1 WAC) found itself looking up at the rest of the 10 WAC teams in the standings.
If you look at the standings today, you will see the Spartans are tied for fourth in the conference with CSU Bakersfield. With three conference games left, securing their spot in Las Vegas for the WAC tournament will be the top priority.
The Spartans improved defense has fueled an impressive three-game win streak with shutout road victories over Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word and UTRGV. They also claim the last two WAC defensive players of the week in sophomore goalie David Herrera and junior defender Andy Rios. Herrera is the first SJSU goalie in three years to be credited with three shutouts in a season.
Offensively, the Spartans have taken the load off of senior forward Jeremy Romero. While he still leads the team in points, players like Carlos Valdovinos, Zach Penner and Andrew Mendoza have stepped up, scoring at least two goals each. Unlike the first half of the season, where Romero was the only threat to score for the Spartans, opposing teams now must focus on the whole squad, and not solely on Romero.
The Spartans are hot. They are rolling at the right time, and while it may be too late to capture a WAC regular season championship, clinching a seed in the WAC tournament is not.
But the team will need to continue to play at a high level. Consistency on both sides of the pitch will be key as final three games of the season are going to decide if the Spartans clinch a playoff spot. This will require doing something SJSU has yet to accomplish this season: win a conference game at home. Surprisingly, all three Spartan conference victories have come on the road.
It should be an exciting final three games for the Spartans. A lot is in the line for a team that just 10 days ago was nowhere near the playoff picture.
It all gets underway with a huge game this Friday at 12 p.m., as the Spartans host conference leader Air Force (11-1-3, 5-0-2 WAC). This is a chance to let the WAC know that the Spartans are a team you do not want to face when they’re hot.
On Sunday, the Spartans will continue their quest to the tournament when they host University Missouri- Kansas City (5-7-3, 3-4 WAC). UMKC is right underneath SJSU in the standings at fifth, and they will come ready to bump the Spartans in the standings.
In what will be the final and most important game of the regular season, the Spartans will take on CSU Bakersfield (5-8-1, 3-3-1 WAC).