The Chico State Wildcats suffered a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss Sunday afternoon at the hands of the Cal State East Bay Pioneers.
The Wildcats earned the honors of hosting their first round matchup of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Tournament after finishing third in the regular season. However, their day was spoiled due to an extraordinary goal from the Pioneers’ junior forward Yuto Hatayama.
Hatayama scored the only goal of the game in the 42nd minute, courtesy of an absolute laser of a shot from around 30 yards out, beating Chico’s senior goalkeeper Emanuel Padilla to the far post.
Padilla is the reigning CCAA Men’s Defensive Player of the Week after earning the award in the last week of the conference schedule, thanks to a masterful performance against the Stanislaus State Warriors where he recorded a clean sheet, tallying six total saves.
Throughout the game, the Wildcats had trouble finishing chances in the offensive end, only producing one shot on goal.
“I actually thought we created a lot of chances, we just didn’t execute,” head coach Felipe Restrepo said. “They got their one and they did.”
With the loss, the Wildcats’ chances of getting back on the pitch are entirely out of their control. The Wildcats currently sit at the No. 8 seed in the NCAA DII Super-Region Group 4, but they are expected to drop some spots after Sunday’s results.
If they are not selected as one of the 10 teams that make up the Super-Region Group 4, Sunday’s loss will mark the end of an up-and-down season for Chico State.
If they are selected, their first match of the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championship will be Nov. 22.
“I can’t be any more proud of the young men that they are becoming and the way they represent the program,” Restrepo said.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Lukas Mann can be reached at [email protected].
