Men’s Soccer: ‘Eaters alone in first
FULLERTON — UC Irvine men’s soccer players had virtually invisible gold numbers on their white jerseys in their Big West Conference first-place showdown with South Division rival Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday.
But thanks to a late goal, the visiting Anteaters were able to claim a 1-0 victory that made sure their status atop the division standings did not disappear.
UCI (12-3-2, 4-2-1 in conference) broke a tie with Cal State Fullerton and now has 13 points (three points for a conference win and one for a tie), with two conference games remaining.
Fullerton (8-7-3, 3-4-1) remains at 10 points, now one behind second-place UC Riverside, which posted a 1-0 overtime win over Cal State Northridge on Wednesday.
The Anteaters, who lost twice last week to fall from No. 3 to No. 14 in the national rankings, got back on the winning track thanks to a goal in the 85th minute by junior Cal State Bakersfield transfer Mario Ortiz.
Noah Gains and Gerardo Gonzalez combined to set up Ortiz about 10 yards in front of the right post. Ortiz, free from the defense, had time to settle the ball and direct it around a charging goalkeeper for his third goal of the season, his second game-winner.
Cal State Fullerton, led by first-year coach George Kuntz, who guided UCI the last 19 seasons before departing following the 2013 campaign, nearly notched the equalizer in the closing minute.
Senior Mark Vasquez directed a blast from the left wing that slipped through the grasp of UCI goalkeeper Michael Breslin who positioned himself inside the near post. The ball was advancing toward the goal line, before Bryan Breslin, a senior defender and Michael’s twin brother, kicked the ball clear back toward midfield to avert potential overtime.
Bryan Breslin had the winning goal, his lone tally of the season, in the 72nd minute of the ‘Eaters’ 1-0 home triumph over the Titans on Oct. 18.
Bryan Breslin’s timely intervention was the most heroic example of strong defense by the Anteaters, who faced 13 shots, three more than they took. Fullerton posted an 8-2 shot advantage in the first half, when Michael Breslin made three of his five saves.
In addition, back-liners Bryan Breslin, Mitchell Alvarez, Jack Berkinbeuel and Gaines, as well as midfielders Michael Sperber and Mats Bjurman , helped the visitors earn their sixth shutout of the season, their first on the road.
“Tonight was a great, great team effort, a great defensive effort,” said UCI Coach Chris Volk, who assumed the helm after 17 seasons as an assistant under Kuntz. “To shut out a team twice within our conference was not easy. [The Titans] have a deep team with a lot of attacking weapons. So credit goes to our guys for bending, but not breaking tonight.”
UCI, which improved to 10-0 when it scores first, almost got on the scoreboard twice before Ortiz found the net, and again in the closing seconds.
In the 55th minute, UCI junior forward Lalo Calzada, who entered with a team-best seven goals and 16 points, ran onto a pass near the top of the box and directed a blast over the crossbar.
An even better chance for the ‘Eaters occurred in the 72nd minute, when senior Cameron Iwasa unleashed a rising drive that Fullerton keeper Jeff Salt (three saves), deflected just over the crossbar.
It was Iwasa who fed Calzada in front in the final seconds, but Salt stopped the point-blank shot, finalizing UCI’s ninth win in 11 one-goal decisions.
“When you’re tied atop the division, every game matters and we wanted to separate ourselves,” Volk said. “We wanted to win the series against Fullerton, and getting two [wins] against [the Titans] is huge for our program. That puts us at the top of the table, but we have two other games and we’ve got to take care of business. It’s going to be a fight all the way [through the regular-season finale].”
UCI, hoping to earn one of three South Division berths in the six-team conference tournament, closes out the regular season with games Saturday at Cal State Northridge and Wednesday at home against UC Riverside.