SAN JOSE, Calif. – Two penalty kick goals by Gaku Nishimura proved to be the difference in San José State's 3-1 victory over Santa Clara men's soccer on Sunday night at the Spartan Soccer Complex. Nishimura scored in the 40th and 83rd minutes with the first one turning out to be the game-winner and the second one, an insurance goal for the Spartans (2-2-3).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nishimura's penalty kick in the 40th minute broke a 1-all tie. A foul was called when a Bronco defender was whistled for getting tangled with a Spartan attacker going for a service ball inside the box.
- Santa Clara (1-5-1) jumped to an early lead in the eighth minute off the foot of freshman Jack Civitts. Pierce Dyal sent a pass from midfield down the left side that was chased down by Martin Kwende Jr. who dribbled into the box and sent it across to a sliding Civitts on the far post.
- San José State answered in the 12th minute on a well executed play on passes by Anthony Guzman and Riccardo Scarafia before Angel Iniguez buried the shot from close range to knot the game up at 1-all.
- SJSU led 2-1 at the half.
- The Spartans continued to hold the one goal lead deep into the second half when a second penalty kick was awarded. This time, a Bronco defender was called for a handball inside the box on a SJSU shot.
- Nishimura's second penalty kick goal hit the bottom of the crossbar, bounced hard to the ground before bouncing back up into the top of the net to put SJSU up 3-1 in the 83rd minute.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- 1: Civitts scored his first career goal and Kwende Jr. tallied his first career assist on it.
- 2: The two penalty kicks were the first ones either called for or against the Broncos this season.
HIGHLIGHTS:
POST-GAME COMMENTS:
Head Coach Cam Rast on the game:
"What's happening when we score a goal this season is we get into this prevent type of mindset where we are on our heals and get defensive. We got tied 1-1 almost as fast as when we went up 1-0 and that deflates us. I'll have to look at the film again on the two penalties that were called against us in the box. But regardless of the calls, we didn't help ourselves and that's what we have to own. We are the ones that need to fight out of this. It's up to us to find the guys that can do that and give us a chance in conference play."
NEXT UP:
- The Broncos hosts CSU Bakersfield on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. PT. Click here to get tickets.
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