The Chico State
men’s soccer team won 2-0 in a dominant performance over the Humboldt State
Lumberjacks Sunday.

The first half was all ’Cats, as they had a total of 11 shots, compared to only one for the Lumberjacks. It wasn’t until the 18th minute of the game when Chico State forward Octavio Guzman was able to score a goal for the ‘Cats, set up by a good inside-out pass from Luke Palmer.

An opportunity for another goal came toward the end of the first half as midfielder Justin Saul fired a straight away shot that bounced off the crossbar.

In the second half, the ’Cats would not miss on another chance to score as defender Jake Ward headed in a goal off a corner from Saul in the 61st minute. Once the score was 2-0, Chico State maintained control of the ball and relied on its defense to keep shutting down the Lumberjacks.

Chico defender Isaiah Dargan said he felt everyone was working hard for each other and they were playing good soccer.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Dargan said. “We can work on just making better decisions and recognizing when to play fast and go get a goal and when to slow it down.”

In the end, Chico State had a total of 16 shots to Humboldt State’s one. This was the eighth shutout of the season for Chico State, who improve to 11-2-1 overall for the season. And remain on top of the California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division.

The Wildcats hope to keep the momentum going during this four-game home stand as Cal State Dominguez Hills comes to University Stadium Friday and Cal State Los Angeles comes Sunday, who gave Chico State one of its only two loses this season.

Sergio Sanchez can be reached at [email protected]