IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer were at a disadvantage drawing a red card in the 50th minute, but persevered to score and win, 1-0, Saturday night in Anteater Stadium over conference leaders, Cal Poly.
RED TIDE
After a scoreless first half that saw UC Irvine (4-7-2, 2-1-1) with a 9-1 advantage in shots, but things turned around five minutes into the second half.
A foul by Cal Poly's Emmanuel Perez led to a UCI free kick.
Oscar Cervantes drew the foul, but was his follow-up drew a straight red card from the official to put the 'Eaters a man down in the 50th minute of play swinging the momentum of the match.
PLAYING SPOILER
With the Anteaters fighting to stay in the match, it became a defensive struggle. Cal Poly (4-5-2, 2-1-1) went on the attack getting a corner kick and a few shots up, but nothing challenging keeper
Gordon Botterill.
Suddenly, the match would flip on its head once again in the 60th minute. The Anteaters built from a goal kick and were on the charge down the right wing with
Christian Bond-Flasza leading it. A pass to
Francesco Montanile who would guide a cross into the box finding a streaking
Axel Adler on the doorstep to punch a shot home for a goal and a 1-0 lead while still down to 10 men.
Â
With lead now, it was all Cal Poly looking for a way past the Anteater defense. UCI would thwart any and every advance from the Mustangs allowing only one shot while on the man advantage and committing no fouls in that time either to preserve the result and the win Saturday night.
FINAL SCORE: UC IRVINE 1, CAL POLY 0
UCI weathered 40 minutes with only 10 men and registering a clean sheet from
Gordon Botterill, the third he's been part of. He not only made just one save, but the squad as a whole allowed just five shots and one with down a man. Botterill also lowered his goals-against-average to 0.77 on the season. His backline of
Josh Kenworthy,
Kwabena Boateng,
Michael Orozco, and
Ricardo Ibarra stepped up even with the loss of
Mathias Winum who also left the match after a collision soon after the red card.
"Today, the game got quite intense and these things happen, but nonetheless we kept a cool head, and that's a testament to how far we've come to trust our own abilities and when it comes down to it, finding that extra little more to get us over the line." As the grad transfer
Gordon Botterill stated, the 'Eaters had worked a grueling non-conference and entered Big West play with just two wins, but the monumental results on the week for the Anteaters gives them four points on the week vaulting them into a tie for second place in the standings alongside Cal Poly at seven points through four matches. "We've been looking to hit our strides the whole season. The results obviously don't show it, but we've always believed in our qualities and we were building toward something."
On the Anteater offense,
Axel Adler picked a magnificent time for his first career goal coming as a game-winner and in his 38th career match. He adds to his two assists on the season and now has six career points. Montanile on the assist was his second this season as he's registered one in consecutive home matches.
Head coach
Yossi Raz was happy with the effort even in a performance that wasn't their best this year. "We didn't play our fest futbol today, but we demonstrated great character. Getting the win and a shutout vs. a quality opponent while a man down is not simple. I'm excited we prevailed especially with our alumni in the stands watching and very happy for our players."
MORE TO COME
The Anteaters forge on with two more conference games ahead next week. They will start at home Wednesday night, October 13, to host UC Davis for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. UCI will be without Cervantes who will sit following his red card. He will be available for the following match on Saturday, October 16, for a trip to CSU Bakersfield and both matches broadcasted on ESPN+.
