Coming off of a hard-fought loss to California State University, Los Angeles last Friday, Chico State Men’s soccer bounced back and won their first conference game against Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-0 on Sunday.
The sun glared down on University Stadium, as a large crowd came out to support the Wildcats as they attempted to take down the rival Toros.
The game started off slow, with no scoring from either team, and just 3 shots from Chico, for the first 25 minutes of the game. However, just past the 26 minute mark, Matt Hafizi got himself a crucial first goal of the season, giving Chico a quick 1-0 lead.
“It was Just anticipation, following the play, and just anticipation, honesty, and hard work, and I was fortunate enough to put it in the net,” Hafizi said.
From this point on, everything went Chico State’s way. The next goal came 11 minutes later off the head of Ronan McEnroe, with assists from DiAngelo Gleaves and Fabian Roman. This goal added padding to Chico State’s lead, and halftime came with Chico State in the lead 2-0.
No other goals were scored in the second half, and Wildcat goalkeeper Damion Lewis didn’t even see a shot on target for the entirety of the game. Chico State played well on defense, getting multiple blocks and limiting the amount of shots the Toros were able to take.
“We always kind of come up with plays in practice that we can use on the pitch,” McEnroe said about his goal. “I knew where I was supposed to be so that the ball was going to come near, I just whipped it in.”
This was a big victory for the men’s team, and was even bigger coming off of a tough 1-0 loss to CSU Los Angeles. This loss put them at 0-1 within their conference, and 2-2-1 overall. The win today was crucial, because it boosts them to an even record within the conference, and a winning season in their overall record.
“Friday’s game left a bad taste in our mouths, so we just wanted to get right back on the pitch and go at it again today and prove to ourselves that we’re at home and can get a result,” Hafizi said.
“A nice win at home against Dominguez, which is a good team, so we’re excited about the win, and excited to move on to the next one,” Coach Felipe Restrepo said.
All-in-all, this game was a huge bounce back win for the wildcats, and a dominant performance by the Chico State defense to shut out Dominguez Hills, and to pick up the first conference win for the wildcats.
Chico State next plays on the road against Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m.
Connor McPherson can be reached at [email protected] or @theGOATMcphers1 on Twitter.
