LA JOLLA, Calif. - Andrew Keimach broke a scoreless tie
in the 70th minute and Kasra Sarabakhsh recorded a goal in the match's final
moments, as the UC San Diego men's soccer team captured a 2-0 home victory Sunday against
Cal Poly Pomona.
The Tritons, undefeated in the last two weekends of
conference play, improve to 3-4-3 overall and 2-3-2 in the California
Collegiate Athletic Association. CPP drops to 5-4-1 overall and 3-4-1 within
league action.
"It was a team effort today and the guys definitely
deserved it," UCSD head coach Jon Pascale said. "We came out and beat
a very good team and I couldn't be happier for the guys."
The Tritons and Broncos combined for 20 shots in the
first half but both teams experienced some trouble landing the attempts on
frame. In the opening period, UCSD put together one of its best chances at the
21:00 mark when David Bakal lifted a short bending cross to a charging Andisheh
Bagheri on the right side of the box. Bagheri's header ended up just to the
left of the net.
With just under four minutes left in the half, a cross
from the right by Alex Portela found Jordan Valenciano at the far post but CPP
keeper James Iles made the stop on Valenciano's header.
The Broncos' best scoring opportunity came about eight minutes
into the second half, as Anthony Salcedo slid up the right side toward the box
and sent a bending shot off the far post. The ball bounced away from danger and
the score remained 0-0.
UCSD broke through at the 69:44 mark, when Keimach
controlled the ball and dribbled it through the defense into the box. He then
lined a hard shot to the left of Iles to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead.
In the 89th minute, UCSD found some breathing room after
Sarabakhsh rivaled Keimach with some spectacular individual moves of his own.
Taylor Wirth sent a pass into the deep right corner for Sarabakhsh, who made it
past his defender on the baseline and sent a shot past the approaching Iles.
CPP ended the contest with a slight advantage in shots,
21-20, and the two keepers involved totaled two saves apiece. The Tritons'
Jesse Brennan collected two stops en route to his fourth shutout of 2010.
Up next, UCSD will test its four-match undefeated streak
with a road match at Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday.
