IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer tangled with Gonzaga for 110 minutes in a match filled with eye-popping goals finishing in a tie, 2-2, Sunday afternoon in Anteater Stadium.
Wonder Goal City
Gonzaga (1-6-1) was the aggressor to start things putting up the game's first four shots, and none more spectacular than Theo O'Malley's goal in the eighth minute. Demetrius Kigeya laid off a ball that O'Malley ran onto from 30 yards chipping a curl into the upper left corner for a wonder start making it 1-0 Gonzaga
The Bulldogs held that lead through most of the first half before the Anteaters (2-4-2) suddenly found their stride in a big way.
Ricardo Ibarra matched O'Malley's strike from nearly the same point on the pitch zapping a ball off the far post and in to tie things, 1-1, in the 40th minute.
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The 'Eaters rode the wave and took the lead just under two minutes later.
Eder Oliva pounced on a mistake from the Bulldog center back and drove to goal. He rolled a cross from the right wing right to
Lawrence Yamaguchi who beat his man to the ball and slid home a poke for a 2-1 UCI lead in the 42nd minute
Not Going Away
The Bulldogs kept the aggression up peppering Anteater keeper
Jordan Martinez early on, and finding a breakthrough in the 70th minute. Mark McEntosh stepped on a turnover around midfield and headed to goal putting up a shot again from 30 yards out and fitting it inside the far post tying things again at 2-2
Preserving The TieÂ
There was one good scoring opportunity by each team for the remainder of the second half.
Jose Ortiz found himself on the doorstep, but Gonzaga keeper Johan Garibay denied his shot. Demetrius Kigeya on the other end deked and dived all around the offensive third rolling a shot just by the far post as the match moved to overtime.
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The 'Eaters held most of the overtime chance and put up three of the four shots.
Eddy Berumen tested the keeper twice while
Christian Gutierrez nearly ended the match in wild fashion flipping a bicycle kick from just inside the box inches over the crossbar.
Final Score: UC Irvine 2, Gonzaga 2
In a match where each side had a lead, they were pretty even in the rest of the stats as well. Both sides had 13 shots, three corner kicks, and nine fouls through regulation. The 'Eaters finished with two more shots on the evening and three more on target. The Bulldogs totaled seven saves on the match with five credited to Garibay, and his defense came up with the other two saves off the line
First and Foremost
This game was a game of firsts for many of the Anteater players. Goalkeeper
Jordan Martinez made his first career start and got his first career save in the 14th minute finishing with a draw in his first decision and four saves.
Ricardo Ibarra's goal was the first of his career coming off a two-assist match last week. "It was amazing. It was nothing like I expected. I thought I was going to get a tap in,"Â Ibarra said of his first career goal.
Roberto Molina and
Seamus McLaughlin added assists on Ibarra's goal, the first for each in their collegiate careers. Yamaguchi's go-ahead goal at the time was his first of the season, second in his career
SoCal Fixtures
Non-conference play hits its homestretch with three games remaining all in Southern California. UCI travels to No. 19 UCLA on Thursday, September 26, before hosting Pacific Sunday, September 29. Non-conference competition closes on October 3 with a trip to No. 21 LMU
