LA JOLLA, Calif. - Two shots in the final 10 minutes off the feet of David Bakal came close to tying the match for UC San Diego but in the end, No. 7 Cal State L.A. held on for the 1-0 win Friday.
The Tritons, outshot 12-3, created late scoring chances while fighting the 1-0 deficit. CSULA freshman goalkeeper Jose Martinez, entering the game in the first half after starter Tobias Hummel left with a head injury, made the necessary stops in the waning moments to guide the Golden Eagles to victory. CSULA continues its dominance of the California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division, improving to 12-1-1 in league play. UCSD drops to 7-8-4 overall and 4-7-3 in the CCAA.
Tritons' freshman forward Evan Walker was the benefactor of a splendid through ball by Bakal roughly 30 minutes into the first half. With the ball played over CSULA's backline, Walker chased it down to create a breakaway situation against Hummel. As Walker tried to make a move left around Hummel, the Golden Eagles' netminder snagged the ball away from Walker's feet to avoid the chance of a potential shot. The two players collided and as a result, Hummel suffered a head injury and was forced to leave the game.
Carrying a 4-0 shot advantage into halftime, the CSULA struck for a score in the 49th minute. As junior defender Tony Hernandez tried to send a ball over UCSD's back line, a header from Tritons' junior defender Josh Jackson caromed to the top of the 18 for a charging Jason Swope. The junior forward sent a line drive to the left of UCSD goalkeeper Peter Akman to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Five minutes later the CSULA attack had a chance to stretch its lead to two scores as junior defender Anton Gunnarsson sent a grounder through the box to senior forward Derrek Horn near the front of the net. Horn's flick off his back foot seemed headed across the back line and into the net but Akman was able to pounce on it to prevent the score.
In the 81st minute UCSD earned a scoring chance of its own when the ball deflected up to the top of the 18 for Bakal at the front of the formation. After a decent look at the frame, a line drive by Bakal was blocked enough by a CSULA defender that it skidded just to the right of the net.
With less than three minutes remaining, a corner kick by freshman midfielder Kian Malek on the right side found junior defender Jared Kukura sprinting into the right side of the box. Kukura sent a hard header wide right of the net.
The Tritons managed to steal the ball at the top of the 18 with under one minute to play and it was tapped to Bakal on the left side of the 18. Bakal's rip was controlled by Martinez and it represented the final scoring chance of the day for UCSD.
On Sunday at 12 p.m., the Tritons will host defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills in the regular season finale. Before the game, eight graduating student-athletes - Akman, Tony Choi, Scott Gressard, Chris Gutierrez, Kyle Parton, Daniel Pavitt, Mikel Samaniego and Jonathan Sawyer - will be honored for their accomplishments on and off the field representing Triton soccer.
