UCR Holds Cal State Northridge to 0-0 Draw

Saturday, October 14

University of California, Riverside

Cal State Northridge

UCR Holds Cal State Northridge to 0-0 Draw

10/14/2006 3:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Riverside—UC Riverside recorded its second tie of the year against Cal State Northridge, 0-0 in double overtime, Saturday afternoon in a Big West Conference match at the UCR Soccer Stadium. The Highlanders move to 4-8-2, 1-3-2 while the Matadors send their record to 5-3-5, 3-0-3.

Coming off their exciting victory Wednesday over UC Santa Barbara, the Highlanders looked for another giant-killing against the league-leading Matadors. The teams had drawn 1-1 in Northridge on September 20 and although this match lacked the goals of the previous meeting, it certainly supplied plenty of drama.

CSUN outshot UCR 11-3 in the first half and had three clear opportunities to take the lead but the UCR defense and a little luck kept it goalless. In the fifth minute, Derek Hanks connected off a corner but it was cleared off the line by sophomore midfielder Doug Thrasher (Las Vegas, NV). A minute later, Sunghyun Kim saw his shot glance off the post, as did Ryan Rossi's attempt in the 38th minute. The Matadors had a third opportunity on a corner, this time on a cross from Kim. UCR junior goalkeeper Charles Alamo (San Luis Obispo, CA) went up but had the ball hit off his gloves. The ball bounced around before it popped up to the head of Ben Cox, who sent it just over the top of the crossbar in the 19th minute.

UCR turned it up in the second half for a few opportunities of its own. Freshman midfielder Zach Walker (Alta Loma, CA) drilled a shot wide from 25 yards in the 75th minute and a minute later, junior defender Ben Oliver (Chula Vista, CA) took a shot from the top-right corner of the box, which deflected off a Matador defender and to goalkeeper Kevin Guppy. Junior midfielder Andrew Villalobos (Whittier, CA) almost gave UCR the lead in spectacular fashion, as his scissors-kick volley from 18 yards missed to the right.

With both teams pushing forward for the victory, chances opened up for a last-gasp winner. Kim found himself wide open in the penalty area in the 89th minute but Alamo went low to his left for the save. When the ball made its way back down the pitch, freshman forward Jeremy Clay (Fontana, CA) charged down a clearance by Guppy and the crowd held its breath as the ricocheted clearance rolled just wide.

In the overtime period, Alamo pulled off a double save from Devin Deldo and Ryan Rossi. Chad Borak then had his header cleared off the line by sophomore defender Aaron Hunter (Pomona, CA) in the final minute.

Alamo made four saves for his second consecutive shutout while Guppy stopped one shot for CSUN. The Matadors held a 21-9 shot advantage and 8-1 on corners.