CARSON—It must have been a thrill for the Chico State men's soccer team to play at Dignity Health Sports Complex Main Stadium—home of the LA Galaxy—Friday night. Especially since the Wildcats played out of this world once again.
The Wildcats limited host Cal State Dominguez Hills to one shot on goal, that coming with two seconds remaining, in a 2-0 victory in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both teams.
Chico State improved to 5-0-0 and 1-0-0 in the CCAA, registering its third consecutive shutout in the process. Cal State Dominguez Hills dipped to 1-4-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the CCAA.
Ronan McEnroe helped spark two counter attacks, Mikey Hirsch registered a pair of assists, and Jacob Chong and Justin Bethke scored for the Wildcats in the win.
They entered the match having won six straight and 10 of their last 11 regular season matches dating back to last season. But success in Carson has been hard to come by over the years. They had not won there since 2013, and were just 3-7-2 all time against the Toros on the road.
It didn't take long for the Wildcats to take control at the Main Stadium, where the Toros get to host one match a season. They scored just 3:17 into the match to take the lead for good.
McEnroe's takeaway near midfield started the Wildcats' counter attack. He passed the ball ahead to Chong 20 yards inside Toros' Territory. Momentarily displaced by a defender, Chong won back control of the ball and passed ahead to Matt Hafizi in the middle of the pitch. Hafizi touched a pass to Hirsch on his right and Hirsch one-timed a pass around a defender and into the open space at the top of the 18-yard box for Chong on a perfectly-timed attacking run. The freshman beat the last defender by a half step, shielded him while taking a touch, and then hit a right-footed blast just inside the near post for his third goal of the season. Hirsch and Hafizi were credited with the double assist.
Chico State doubled its lead and eliminated any last-minute drama in the 82
nd minute.
McEnroe started the counter attack once again, this time tackling the ball away from a Toro in the Wildcats' final third. The ball rolled forward to the feet of Chong who was facing his own goal but quickly played the ball to Hirsch in the middle of the pitch. The counter was on.
Hirsch slipped a pass just ahead of a defender's sliding tackle to Justin Bethke, who raced alone down the right flank. Bethke dribbled into the open space with four defenders in pursuit, and upon reaching the 18-yard box as the Toros closed in, ripped a shot through the goalkeeper's fingertips. It skipped on into the back of the net for Bethke's first goal of the season and the seventh of the senior's career. Hirsch was credited with his second assist of the night and the eighth of his career.
Wildcats goalkeeper Jose Paredes collected his third consecutive shutout with a save at the near post with just two seconds remaining. Chico State's defense has allowed only 12 shots on goal all season, and only five in the last three matches.
The Wildcats next face 7
th-ranked Cal State LA, a 5-1 winner in its season opener against Stanislaus State, at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Chico State will be looking for its first road win against the Golden Eagles since 2003 and its first win of any kind against them since 2012.
The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 2 in the West Region by the United Soccer Coaches and improved to 6-0-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the CCAA with Friday night's runaway win. Chico State is ranked No. 5 in the West Region but entered the weekend one of only two unbeaten and untied teams that were not ranked nationally.
