IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer secured a berth in the Big West Tournament with a resounding 2-0 victory Saturday night over Cal Poly.
Gun Shot
The match began with a shot on goal from Cal Poly (7-7-1, 3-3-0), but then the 'Eaters (7-5-5, 4-1-1) took over holding possession and pushing into the attacking third.
Christian Gutierrez whipped around and fired a couple warning shots before making his mark in the 36th minute.
A perfectly led pass up the left wing by
Seamus McLaughlin fell to Gutierrez who sped down the sideline and into the box bearing down on keeper Carlos Arce-Hurtado and beating him to his left and inside the far post for a 1-0 Anteater lead.
Gutierrez also picked up a yellow as each side drew one through 45 minutes, but the lead remained at 1-0 as did UCI's 10-2 shot advantage.
Double Barreled
Both sides strengthened their games entering the second half.
Eder Oliva put up a good shot attempt in the first minute, and Cal Poly had a magical try off the foot of JoeMack Leonardo in the 68th minute that dipped into the upper corner, but was swatted aside by
Ford Parker.
The 'Eaters countered with a screamer of their own in the 78th minute, and none other than
Christian Gutierrez was on the scene.
A couple crosses floated through the box for the 'Eaters without finding a target. Cal Poly's clearance found
Michael Orozco who laid a ball off to Gutierrez who dipped into the midfield and blasted a shot over Arce-Hurtado wrapping it under the crossbar for the goal and a 2-0 lead.
UC Irvine had numerous other opportunities to expand the lead outshooting the Mustangs, 17-6, but would end with the 2-0 victory and three whole Big West points.
Final Score: UC Irvine 2, Cal Poly 0
The defense showed up as well with their third shutout of the season credited to
Ford Parker who stopped two shots as did his counterpart, Arce-Hurtado, for the Mustangs. The sides were also even with two corners and 10 fouls each. UCI picked up three yellows to CP's two
The 'Eaters are back in the win column after they had their eight-match unbeaten streak erased on Wednesday. Three points give UCI 13 in the Big West keeping them tied atop the standings with UC Davis with one match remaining.
"I'm happy with the team performance tonight," said a confident head coach
Yossi Raz. "We played a strong, well-coached team that came in with some nice momentum, and I feel like we controlled the game well."
Much of the control came from
Christian Gutierrez who had seven shots himself in the match and put together his second two-goal match of the season. Assists were dished out to a pair of defenders with
Seamus McLaughlin getting his second of the season on the first goal, and
Michael Orozco put up his first to help the final goal home.
"We prepared well," confirmed the goalscorer
Christian Gutierrez. "We have limited time to prepare a game plan for every game, but the coaches do their part and we execute the part we have to execute. We knew today was going to be a big game for us, we had to go one game at a time."
"I'm happy for Christian," praised Raz. "His pair of goals is a clear indication that hard work pays off."
That hard work has boosted him to the top of the team in both goals (6) and points (12) as he's taken off since joining the starting XI for the last eight matches scoring five of those goals.
"The first goal was a pass from Seamus and something we practiced this week. The opportunity came up and the play came out the way its supposed to and I was able to put it in the net. The second one was something I do with my Pops early in the morning, everyday, so its not something that just happened, its something that we've been working on for days, weeks, months, years, and today it came out in that's the moment we live for."
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Berth Control
"We have a big match coming next week and I'm hopeful to see a full house that will enjoy our senior night celebration and help push us in a crucial Big West game."
Coach Raz and his 'Eaters have one important match remaining coming up Saturday, Nov. 2 in Anteater Stadium where they will celebrate their senior class and could reclaim their Big West title with a positive result.
The 'Eaters did clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament with the three points tonight, and secured a top three finish in the standings which earns them a home match in their first tournament match that was absolutely on the minds of Gutierrez and his teammates.
"We knew we had to get this win clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament, and we get to play in front of our home crowd. That's a big advantage for us, and we have to take it."
