The insertion of Cayden Hotaling and Garvin Brooks Wilson into the starting lineup for the first time in their collegiate careers gave the Chico State men's soccer team a renewed vigor and vitality Sunday. And with 35 seconds to play in regulation, Miles Rice gave the Wildcats the match-winning goal they were desperately seeking. Rice collected Adrian Fontanelli's deflected cross about 15 yards out from the right post, took a touch inside and then ripped a left-footed blast between the keeper and and a defender standing at the near post for the match winner, and his first collegiate goal.
 
The win was the Wildcats' first in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action and snapped the team's six-match losing skid. Chico State is now 2-6-0 and 1-1-0. Cal State San Marcos slipped to 1-6-1, 0-1-1.

The Wildcats had actually played quite well during their recent drought, with little in the results column to show for it. However, Friday's loss to Cal State San Bernardino appeared to be a low point in terms of energy on the bench and on the pitch. That changed Sunday.
 
Brooks Wilson wreaked havoc up and down the right flank all match long, breaking up Cal State San Marcos' offensive flow while and giving the Cougars fits on the attack. Hotaling, playing in the midfield, and it felt as though he won 90 percent of the 50-50 balls that came his way.
 
Chico State limited the Cougars to just a few serious scoring opportunities, and on their best of the day, Wildcats' goalkeeper Luis Albarran went low and left to smother a promising try. Albarran needed just four saves for his second shutout of the season.
 
The Wildcats finished with 16 shots, six of which were on goal. The last was the winner. The winning play actually began with a nice win out of the back. Trevor Fritz took the ball off of a Cougars' toe right at the midfield stripe and immediately ate up 20 yards of space with a straight-ahead dribble. Fritz found Fontanelli out wide with a pass to the top-left corner of the 18-yard box. Fontanelli feigned a touch inside and took a touch back out to the end line before hammering a low left-footed service across the mouth of the goal. His cross deflected off the foot of a defender and rolled to Rice for the match winner.

Goal by #30 Miles Rice in the final minute, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 win vs San Marcos! pic.twitter.com/R5mlRPRSbX

— Chico Wildcats (@ChicoWildcats) October 3, 2021