Story by Oscar Jimenez Iniguez
The California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) men’s soccer team beat visiting San Francisco State University 2-0 in commanding style on Oct. 6 in their fifth California Collegiate Athletic Association match of the season.
In the first half of the game, the Otters outshot the Gators 7-1 in what first began as a momentum-propelling goal in the first six minutes of the game, shot and scored by midfielder Roberto Banegas (#9) assisted by defender Garrett Hayes (#4). The Otters continued to shoot the ball until forward Mason Ward (#11) shot and scored off a connected assisted pass by midfielder Ronaldo Guardarrama (#23).
The second half saw the Otters outshoot the Gators again, this time 9-3. Monterey Bay’s goalkeeper Matthias Milton (#1) saved two of the three shots by the Gators, while San Francisco goalkeeper Matias Herrera Fuentes (#99) saved three of nine shots, allowing no goals.
The commanding first half for the Otters proved to be the difference in the game as they outscored and outshot the Gators. Despite not scoring any goals, San Francisco still put up a defensive front in the second half, allowing no goals. Monterey Bay has now gone 3-0, posting three consecutive shutout games with Milton in goal for all three games.
The Otters improved to 5-4-2 overall and 3-2-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the Gators fell to 3-4-4 and 1-2-1.
The Otters faced off against conference leader Sonoma State on Oct. 9, but lost with a final score of 2-3.
They will go up against Cal State East Bay on Oct. 14. For more information on upcoming games, visit otterathletics.com.