SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A late goal in the 88th minute gave the Cal State San Marcos men’s soccer team a 2-1 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday afternoon at The Cage.
GOALS
CSUSM – 62′ Riley Patterson (Assisted by Aaron Alvarez)
CSUMB – 83′ Pedro Hernandez (Assisted by Francisco Ponce and Antonio Ordonez)
CSUSM – 88′ Jacob Cuccia (Assisted by Juan Camilo Salazar)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game remained scoreless after the first 45 minutes of play, but CSUSM outshot CSUMB 6-2 while putting two shots on goal.
In the 62nd minute, Aaron Alvarez made a pass towards the right side of the box where Patterson picked up possession. Coming in towards the goal at an angle, Patterson took a low shot that went right of the diving keeper and into the bottom left corner of the net to give CSUSM a 1-0 lead.
The Otters evened the game at 1-1 in the 83rd minute. Off a free kick by Ponce that crossed the box from the right side, Ordonez headed a pass to Hernandez from the left side. Hernandez proceeded to head the ball into the right corner of the goal to erase the deficit.
Off a corner from Salazar on the right side in the 88th minute, Cuccia headed the ball into bottom left corner of the net from six yards out on the right side and gave the Cougars a late 2-1 lead.
QUICK KICKS
CSUSM improved to 4-10-1 (3-5-1 CCAA) while CSUMB dropped to 6-4-5 (2-4-3 CCAA).
The Cougars ended the game with the upper hand in shots (11-6), shots on goal (7-1) and corner kicks (8-3) while spending 55% of their possessions in Otter territory.
Cuccia’s goal was his team-leading third of the season while Patterson racked up his second.
Salazar recorded his team-leading third assist of the year while Aaron Alvarez recorded his second.
CSUSM’s eighth corners were a season high.
The Otters’ lone shot on goal was the lowest by a Cougar opponent this season.
The Cougars are now 5-1-1 in the all-time series against the Otters and remain undefeated at home with a 3-0 record.
The win puts CSUSM into a tie with Sonoma State for seventh place in the CCAA standings with two games remaining.
Goal scorers Riley Patterson and Jacob Cuccia discuss today’s 2-1 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/s1EXNP3Ffu
– CSUSM Men’s Soccer (@CSUSM_MSoc) October 30, 2021
Head Coach Ron Pulvers talks about what he saw out of his team today and commends seniors Jacob Cuccia and Danny Alvarez ahead of Sunday’s Senior Day game at The Cage. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/ntpc7qIOwk
– CSUSM Men’s Soccer (@CSUSM_MSoc) October 30, 2021
UP NEXT
CSUSM will play its final home game of the 2021 season on Sunday against fourth-place Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-4-1, 6-3-0 CCAA). Prior to the 2 p.m. kickoff, the Cougars will honor seniors Danny Alvarez and Jacob Cuccia.
