LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UC San Diego men's soccer team had several opportunities to put one home, but ultimately had to settle for a 0-0 tie in a well-played match with visiting Humboldt State Sunday afternoon at Triton Soccer Field. Both squads took 17 shots in the contest, but neither could find the net after 110 minutes of play.
Looking to bounce back after a disheartening 4-0 defeat to No. 4 Sonoma State on Friday, the Tritons looked sharp for most of the match, but failed to score for the third consecutive contest. UCSD (6-3-2, 3-3-2 CCAA) has not scored since the 49th minute of the team's 3-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona on September 26.
Humboldt State (6-3-4, 1-3-3 CCAA) had arguably the best look of the day midway through the first half when forward Russell Vernon had a breakaway on the left side, but senior goalkeeper
Peter Akman made an incredible save from the ground, reaching behind him to deflect the shot and allow a UCSD defender to clear the ball and end the threat.
The Tritons came right back and had an opportunity of their own the next possession after senior midfielder
Joe Shah connected with freshman forward
Scott MacBride right in front of the keeper, but the Lumberjacks' Drew Ryan charged to swallow up the attempt.
UCSD had another scoring chance early in the second period when a
Josh Jackson corner kick went directly to
Tony Fernandez in the box, but the senior forward's header missed just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later Fernandez played a ball up to MacBride, who made a great run on the left side to get a one on one chance with the keeper, but Ryan was there for the save once again.
Neither team could get much going after regulation, although the visitors almost stole the victory when forward Daniel Adamski broke free in front of the net. Fortunately, Akman was up to the challenge once again and cleared the ball to preserve the shutout for the Tritons.
Each team managed just two shots in the two over time periods as fatigue was clearly settling in. UCSD held a 9-6 advantage on corner kicks, but could not take advantage of their set piece opportunities. MacBride, Shah, and
Shane Micheil led the Tritons with three shots apiece.
Ryan finished with nine saves for the Lumberjacks, while Akman recorded a season-high seven stops en route to his sixth shutout of 2008.
UCSD returns to action on Friday, October 10, when the Tritons travel to Cal State Stanislaus. Kickoff is slated for 3:00 p.m.
