FULLERTON, Calif. - Oscar Penate's fourth goal in five games forced extra time for the first time since September as UC Riverside played Cal State Fullerton to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Titan Stadium.
UCR's back line was tested early with Fullerton threatening in the eighth minute, but only allowed a shot from outside the box that sailed over the crossbar. The Titans clogged the attacking 18-yard box in the 19th minute, but an interception from Carlos Osorio negated any further threat.
Carlos Gonzalez came off his line in the 23rd minute to shut down a Fullerton counter attack before UCR countered with two scoring chances in the 25th minute.
After Penate was seconds late to a through ball in the 25th that would have found the back of the net, the junior booted one over the crossbar seconds later for his second attempt of the night.
Brendan Clark looked to put a low cross into the middle of the box from the left side in the 32nd minute, but Fullerton's defense disrupted the play and knocked the cross over the end line. Clark's shot on the ensuing corner sailed over the top right corner of the net.
Gonzalez used an outstretched hand to deflect a line drive over the crossbar in the 40th minute, but Cal State Fullerton's ensuing corner kick found its way into the back of the net to break the deadlock and end the freshman's scoreless streak at 232 minutes.
The Highlanders came out of the halftime break with a prime scoring chance in the 52nd minute. A UCR cross from the left side of the box deflected off a Titan defender before falling to Leopoldo Hernandez, whose near miss rocketed past the left post.
Freymar Omarsson deflected a ball off a Titan defender over the end line on a smart heads up play in the 55th minute, but UCR's corner kick was cleared away. Omarsson had a clear scoring chance after tiptoeing alongside a defender into the box in the 59th minute, but would not get a clean hit on the ball.
Federico Ucar laid a rolling ball across the box in the 70th minute that reached a UCR boot, but the Highlanders couldn't put a clean touch on the end of the cross.
Ucar tried again in the 72nd minute with a ball into Penate, who made three Titans miss before finding the back of the net for the equalizer. Penate's strike was his fifth goal overall and fourth in the last five games.
UCR almost pulled ahead on two occasions two minutes later. A corner kick landed in the box before being cleared, and the ball was sent back in off Jonick Pineda's boot before ricocheting off the crossbar.
Leopoldo Hernandez pulled his defender outside the box in the 84th minute before crossing a ball into Ucar, but the Uruguayan's one-timer missed the goal mouth and went over the crossbar. Fullerton's buildup after the goal kick went all the way into the opposite box before Gonzalez again came off his line to corral the ball before the Highlanders eventually went to extra time.
UCR put the pressure on in extra time with multiple corner kicks and scoring chances, but 10 extra minutes were needed to decide Saturday's contest.
Both defenses clamped down in extra time with neither budging as time wound down, but Issa Badawiya took a ball into open space down the right side in the 109th minute for a final scoring chance for UCR. Badawiya played the ball into the attacking midfield and Herminio Padilla was there to turn and fire a shot on net, but it went straight to Cal State Fullerton's goalkeeper.
The Highlanders are back home for their penultimate home game of 2021 on Wednesday, October 20, hosting Cal Poly at 7:00 p.m. at UC Riverside Soccer Stadium. Live stats will be available at gohighlanders.com.
