The men’s soccer team headed north to shut out the Chico State Wildcats 1-0 last Friday evening.
The Broncos entered the match with an overall record of 4-3-2 and a conference record of 3-0-1, while the Wildcats entered with an overall of 7-2 and a conference record of 3-2.
The Wildcats took a total of three shots in the first half, none of which were on goal, while the Broncos struggled with zero shots. Both teams were unable to score in the first half of regulation.
It wasn’t until the 86th minute that the Broncos were able to break through and take the lead. Junior midfielder Eduardo Faria sent senior midfielder Jimmie Villalobos a pass toward the near post that Villalobos was able to header into the back of the net.
“I think in the first half, we were not really connected well. But during halftime, we fixed what we needed to improve,” Faria said. “I saw that Jimmie was running towards the first post and I tried to put the ball there and luckily he scored.”
(Grace Mikuriya | The Poly Post)
Villalobos continued his hot streak, with Friday’s goal marking his ninth goal in nine games. He is now tied with the amount of goals he scored for the entire 2018 season.
“We knew we were going to face a good opponent and it was going to be a war out there,” Villalobos said. “Going into the second half, we got our rhythm, started touching the ball and playing our style. We were having a lot of opportunities in the second half. Eduardo Faria had the free kick and I would always see in previews that (the Wildcats) would never run to near post. Luckily, I read them right and I went to the near post, headed it and it went in. It was a good ball from Eduardo.”
The Broncos racked up a total of eight shots, two on goal in the second half. They also managed to keep the Wildcats from scoring and the Broncos ended the match with a 1-0 advantage.
“It was a tale of two halves. We worked really hard in the first half, but we just couldn’t get the ball moving like we wanted to,” head coach Matt O’Sullivan said. “In the second half it was very different and we started moving the ball and got a little more rhythm to our game. Ultimately, I think the win came from the spirit of the guys to be able to grind out and dig deep.”
The Broncos were back on the road to take on the Stanislaus State Warriors on Sunday afternoon.
“We have a process of one game at a time, we just have to stay focused,” O’Sullivan said. “We didn’t show up last Sunday after a really big win on a Friday. This is another really big win on a Friday, so we have to rebound very quickly with energy, positivity and desire to go out and compete again.”
The Broncos recorded their second shut out of the weekend after defeating the Warriors 4-0.
It only took six minutes for the Broncos to get on the board. Faria scored on a rebound in the box to put the Broncos in the lead.
In the 30th minute, Villalobos recorded his tenth goal this season on an assist from sophomore defender Christian Miramontes.
The Broncos entered half time with a 2-0 lead, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to attack in the second half.
In the 53rd minute, Faria received a pass from senior forward Jordan Jackmon and sank it into the net for his second goal of the match.
In the 80th minute, the Broncos increased their lead 4-0 when senior midfielder Adam Lopez scored off an assist by junior midfielder Ateno Ajeakwa.
This marked Lopez’s first goal of the season.
The Broncos’ overall record now stands at 5-3-2, while their conference record is 4-0-1.
The Broncos will return to Kellogg Stadium for their next six matches. They will take on Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m. Thursday and Cal State L.A. at 2 p.m. Sunday.