LACEY, Washington—The sound of the ball hitting the back of the net at full force was reminiscent of the sound one makes when being punched in the gut. It brought the Chico State men's soccer team to its knees. After 80-plus minutes of agonizing misses and denials on the attack, the Wildcats surrendered the match winner on with just 1:26 remaining in regulation in a 1-0 loss to 18^th-ranked Simon Fraser Saturday afternoon in Lacey, Washington. It came on Simon Fraser's first shot on target all afternoon.
 
All nine of Simon Fraser's shots came in the second half. They did not register their first shot until 60:38 had elapsed. Their first and only shot on goal was the match winner. Chico State, meanwhile, fired off 17 shots, seven of which were saved by SFU keeper Aiden Bain, who played a magnificent match.
 
Bain pushed Juan Perez's rocket toward the near upper-V over the bar in the 44^th minute. He deflected Jacob Chong's low screamer toward the near post in the 64^th minute. He dove to his left to parry away Liam Duerksen's promising try and then watched as another Duerksen attempt slipped just wide in the 68^th minute following the rebound.
 
The Wildcats will leave Saints field in Lacey, Washington having lost a pair despite outshooting their two opponents by a combined 38-20. Now 1-3-0, Chico State returns home to face Holy Names Thursday at 6 p.m. and Academy of Art Sunday at 6 p.m. Simon Fraser is now 3-1-0.