IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer landed a third straight win and berth to the Big West Tournament Saturday night from a 2-1 win over CSUNÂ on a night they celebrated its 2021 Senior class in Anteater Stadium.
SENIOR SALUTE
Before the match, eight Anteaters were honored by their coaches and teammates as seniors graduated from the program and school following the 2021 season. The group included fifth-year student-athletes
Lawrence Yamaguchi,
Christian Bond-Flasza, and
Axel Adler, fourth-years
Kelvin Neumetzler,
Michael Orozco, andÂ
Beto Alvarenga, and grad transfers
Ryan Khedoo and
Gordon Botterill.
"This night was full of emotions as we honored a group of amazing seniors who have contributed so much to the fabric of UC Irvine men's soccer," head coach
Yossi Raz and the staff said of recognizing the group and the moment. "I am happy our fans and seniors got to experience a special night and want to congratulate this group on their special accomplishments at UCI. I'm confident that they have a bright future ahead."
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LEFT ON RED
The match flowed fairly evenly through the first half and early portion of the second. UCI (7-7-3, 5-1-2) held a slight shot advantage in the first half including a pair on frame and a shot off the post. CSUN (3-13-1, 2-5-1) returned fire with chances of their own, held the majority of corners of the first half, and connected with the post on their end as well.
The 57th minute provided a huge momentum shift on a foul by CSUN midfielder Alex Lemus along the sideline. The Matadors had earned four yellows including three in the first three minutes of the second half with Lemus receiving one. The foul in the 57th minute went down as his second yellow and a red card leaving CSUN at 10 men for the final half hour of regulation.
NET GAINS
Anteater possession rose through following the advantage, but still a 0-0 scoreline heading into the final 15 minutes. The attack built in the 78th minute with
Ryan Khedoo driving into the box and luring on CSUN keeper Cooper Wenzel. Khedoo scanned the box and fed a pass back that was deflected out the top of the box onto
Ashish Chattha whose shot through traffic found the back of the net for a 1-0 UCI lead.
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Not too long later, the 'Eaters were on the rush again starting from a booming lead pass from
Oscar Cervantes. He hit
Axel Adler in stride for a breakaway along the right wing and beating Wenzel to grow the lead to 2-0 in the 82nd minute.
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FINAL SCORE: UC IRVINE 2, CSUN 1
The Matadors made things interesting in the 87th minute from John Andersen pouncing on a free ball at the goalmouth to cut the lead down to 2-1, but the defense was able to preserve the win. The win did a lot of things for the Anteaters, first and foremost clinching a spot in the Big West Tournament officially for a third straight season. On top of that, the 'Eaters will be hosting its first tournament game securing a top-4 spot in the standings currently sitting all alone in second with 17 points. UCI also rises to a .500 record overall now at 7-7-3.
"We are excited to prevail through another hard Big West challenge. CSUN has a lot of tradition, are well coached, and have talent in different lines. With everything on the line tonight, the challenge at hand was massive and the performance of our players was exceptional."
Botterill and the defense led the way most of the night as the grad transfer scored his fifth win of the season. He finished with a pair of saves despite losing the shutout in the waning minutes ending his scoreless streak at 365 minutes.
Goal scorers were
Ashish Chattha now second on the team with four goals.
Axel Adler finished with the game-winning goal, his second of the year on his second goal of 2021 and his career. Assists on the night were registered by
Oscar Cervantes, his third of 2021, and
Ryan Khedoo adding his second in as many matches.
"This season is coming to its peak and the games get bigger and more meaningful. We will regroup and prepare for the next challenge at Cal State Fullerton."
The final regular season match next Saturday, October 30, sees the 'Eaters matchup with Cal State Fullerton in Titan Stadium. Tournament placement is very much open for the Anteaters who still has a path to a Big West crown, but can finish as low as fourth. One point in Saturday's match will guarantee a top-2 finish in the Big West and a first-round bye. To win a share of the Big West title, UCI will need to win and get help in the form of a CSUN win over UC Santa Barbara.
