UC Riverside
Cal State Northridge
Cal State Northridge Tops Highlanders 1-0 in UCR's Big West Opener
10/5/2008 2:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer
UCR's Men's Soccer Team opened the Big West portion of its schedule on Sunday afternoon at Cal State Northridge, falling to the Matadors, 1-0.
CSN got the better of the play in the first half outshooting the Highlanders 8-3 and picking up a goal just under 26 minutes into the match on Bo Miller's first goal of the season. Cesar Diaz (Chino, CA) nearly knotted the game at one apiece just before the half as he deked the Matadors keeper, leaving the goal exposed in the process. But CSN defender Robert Pate was trailing on the play and stepped between Diaz and the goal blocking the shot and clearing the ball out of the box.
UCR pushed the pace in the second half and the play turned physical as the clock wound down with three red cards issued in the final 8:39 of the match. The Highlanders enjoyed a one-man advantage from that point on, and forced Matadors keeper Kevin Guppy into making a number of key saves. Unfortunately time ran out on UCR before they were able to send the game into overtime.
The loss drops the Highlanders record to 3-6-1, 0-1-0 while CSN improves to 5-4-1, 1-0-0. Next up for UCR is a Wednesday trip to Cal Poly. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 pm.
