The stadium was electric. The Chico State men’s soccer team plugged in. Playing in front of a thunderous throng 1,126 strong, the Wildcats bolted into the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional title game with a 2-0 victory against rival Sonoma State in the opening round Friday night at University Soccer Stadium.
The largest crowd ever officially recorded at a Chico State home game was treated to a special night. Fourth-year senior Zach Bradford scored the game-winning goal. California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Offensive Player of the Year Ferid Celosmanovic delivered a bolt on Bradford’s tally and a 25-yard blast that put the game away. And the Wildcats defense turned in an indomitable effort to shut out the CCAA’s highest-scoring team and win their first NCAA Tournament game since 2003.
Friday night’s attendance record might be in jeopardy as soon as Sunday, though. The Wildcats will face seventh-ranked Grand Canyon (a 4-1 winner against Cal State San Bernardino in Friday’s opening game) for the regional crown at noon.
The buzz heading into the weekend centered on whether the Wildcats deserved to be playing in the NCAA Championship Tournament at all, let alone hosting it. They had lost two in a row – their regular season finale at Cal State Stanislaus and an opening round game of the CCAA Championship Tournament – and five of their last 10 overall.
But they answered their detractors with a dominating win Friday night.
The Wildcats (14-6 on the season) outshot 17th-ranked Sonoma State 16-10 and enjoyed a 7-4 edge in corner kicks to earn their seventh victory against a plus-.500 team this season.
“I’m so proud of my team and happy for the guys,” said Head Coach Felipe Restrepo. “We were the better team tonight.”
Bradford was one of the main reasons. Having lived through what many Chico State soccer fans felt was an NCAA Tournament snub two seasons ago, he practically begged his teammates to make sure they didn’t leave their fate in the hands of the committee again prior to their opening-round game of the CCAA Championship Tournament.
The Wildcats didn’t respond that day, and Bradford and his teammates agonized for 72 hours before the announcement came that they had earned the right to host. Their emotion that day was enormous. They still haven’t stopped smiling.
Bradford kept them grinning when he rose above the crowd in the mouth of the goal, allowing Celosmanovic’s knuckling free kick to skim off the top of his head and banana over the keeper before dipping into the upper reaches of the net to give Chico State a 1-0 lead just 7:17 in. Nick Tedrow was fouled about two yards off the top-right corner of the penalty box, setting the stage for the play.
The goal was Bradford’s first of the season and the third of his sterling four-year career.
Already 11-0 on the season when striking first, the Wildcats were thrilled to be in the proverbial drivers’ seat. But this was not necessarily the same defense that had compiled that record. Already without starting left back Evan Johnston due to a red card, the Wildcats lost starting right back Ryan Nevarez to injury 35 minutes in. Thus, Elliott Plummer, and first Josh Borja and then Ross Judge, were called upon to help keep the Seawolves at bay.
Those four, along with starters Mike Janjigian and Jacob Darr, did just that, saddling the Seawolves with just their fourth shutout of the season and their second against the Wildcats at University Soccer Stadium. Chico State beat Sonoma State 2-0 on Sept. 26.
Judge, a fourth-year senior who actually made the switch from defender to forward this season, didn’t forget how to defend. He played 42 strong minutes of a second half in which Sonoma State managed just three shots. Borja, another of last year’s defenders who has taken on a more offensive role this season, bridged the gap between Nevarez and Judge. Plummer, a redshirt freshman, started his fifth game in the back and played perhaps his best soccer of the season. Janjigian, another redshirt freshman, patrolled the middle with mettle as he’s done all year. And Darr was dominant, wowing the crowd with his tenacity, toughness, and timely tackles.
True freshman goalkeeper Sam “I am” Evans recorded four saves in the shutout. He was so good Friday that the Seawolves could not score in the box. They could not, would not, with a cross. They could not score with a header. They could not, would not, from dead center. They could not score a single goal. Sam does not like them to, I’m told.
Celosmanovic, on he other hand, has proven the ability to score in all of those situations this season. The CCAA’s leader in goals with 13, he did perhaps his best work setting up his teammates Friday night. After assisting on the first goal, he twice gave teammates very dangerous chances as the game progressed.
Celosmanovic actually found the back of the net himself late in the first half following a gorgeous play and pass by Luke Palmer, but the flag went up for off sides.
He was not off in the second half when he took full opportunity of his chance to put the game away. Josh Johnson, who gave the Wildcats a special spark off the bench both offensively and defensively, found Celosmanovic’s feet at the top of the box. He spun away from the defender toward the end line to create space and then launched a low liner from 25 yards that nestled into the net just inside the far post, sending the fans into a frenzy.
The Sonoma State bench was already in a frenzy of its own. The Seawolves were whistled for four yellow cards and shown four reds between the opening moments of intermission and the 83rd minute. Taylor Varnadore was sent off in the 51st minute, and before the smoke cleared on that one, both teams’ coaches had been shown the exit as well. Trevor Hurst went into the books with a red with 7:58 remaining, and 21 seconds later, Erick Delgado received his second yellow card and was sent off.
Ten seconds and two passes later, it was 2-0 and the wild celebration for Chico State’s first postseason win at home since 1981 began. The guess here is that it still hasn’t ended.
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