Northridge Squanders Two-Goal Lead in 3-2 Loss to #9 Gauchos
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Northridge Squanders Two-Goal Lead in 3-2 Loss to #9 Gauchos
Box Score
Northridge, Calif. -- It was a tale of two halves Tuesday, with Cal State Northridge (6-7-6, 2-5-4) taking a 2-1 lead into halftime just to see it slip away in the second stanza. UC Santa Barbara (12-3-3, 9-1-1) scored a pair of second-half goals to take the victory and clinch the conference crown.
Devin Deldo logged the first Northridge goal in the eighth minute. Taking a Ben Cox pass, the junior forward dribbled past all-conference defender Andy Iro and beat keeper Bryant Rueckner far post. Deldo assisted on the second score, serving Sean Franklin in the box and the senior defender put it home for his first score of the season. The 22nd-minute goal gave the Matadors a two-goal lead.
The Gauchos, however, refused to go in to halftime quietly. With under a minute on the clock, Eric Avila put a ball on the head of Chris Pontius, and Pontius banged it home to narrow the Northridge lead to one heading into the intermission.
Five minutes in to the second half, Avila was back in the act, this time helping Tino Nunez. Nunez accepted an Avila cross and put a header past Guppy and in to the back of the net.
With time ticking away with the score knotted, a penalty kick was awarded to the Gauchos after a questionable call in the box. Despite the Matadors' objections, Pontius was granted the freebie and he made the most of it, going right down the middle past a diving Kevin Guppy to give the Gauchos a one-goal advantage.
The Gauchos controlled much of the action the rest of the way, and despite close-calls from Rafael Garcia and Deldo, the Gauchos escaped Northridge with the victory and the Big West crown.
Northridge was outshot 23-8 for the match. Guppy collected six saves in the losing effort and the sides combined for 40 fouls. Referee Jessie Johnson was forced to use the book just twice, once for either side.
Guppy added to his list of personal achievements, logging a top-ten all-time total of 76 saves this season. Already, Guppy had set a personal-high in the category, had become the second Matador ever with 200 career saves (207), slipped into first place in the all-time career wins annals (29), and shattered the previous record of 14.5 career shutouts (21.5).
The Gauchos needed just a win or tie to clinch the out-right Big West title. Their win secured their second consecutive title and ensured a seventh consecutive season in which either Northridge or the Gauchos claimed the crown.
Northridge closes out its 2007 campaign with a visit from UC Irvine Friday afternoon. The Matadors worked the Anteaters to a 1-1 tie in Irvine earlier this season.
Kick off is slated for 2 p.m.
--Go Matadors-- |
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