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MEN'S SOCCER FALLS TO SAN JOSE STATE, 4-2, IN MPSF TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
11/10/2011
Almog Strikowski scored a beautiful goal in the 59th minute but it wasn't enough to beat SJSU.
The No. 4 seeded Hornets end the season with a record of 9-8-2 while the No. 5 seed Spartans (9-7-3) advance to the semifinals on Friday.
Sacramento State had won the previous two MPSF tournament titles to secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Senior Chris Bettencourt finishes his stellar career tied for second in school history with 21 goals and third all-time with 53 points. He also tied for fifth all-time with 11 assists. Senior Matthew Tellez moved to No. 2 in the record books with 80 career games played and fellow captain Adam Bettencourt jumped to No. 4 all-time with 74 games played. With the season complete, junior keeper Bryan Oliver is tied for first with 12 career shutouts and is tied for fourth with 137 career saves.
On Thursday against San Jose State, the Hornets had possession throughout much of the first half and early in the second period before the Spartans took over.
Sacramento State took an early lead after Max Alvarez connected on a penalty kick in the 16th minute for his fifth goal of the year after San Jose State was whistled for a handball in the box.
Alvarez’s penalty kick was the Hornets’ second PK goal of the season in three attempts. Eric Amato converted one against William Jessup while Alex Lopez missed at New Mexico.
The Hornets went into halftime with a 1-0 lead but the fireworks had just begun.
San Jose State tied up the game, 1-1, in the 59th minute on a penalty kick of its own. After another handball was called in the box, this time on the Hornets, Diego Ochoa buried the ball inside the right post for his third goal of the season.
Sacramento State was quick to answer as Almog Strikowski scored his third goal of the year just 35 seconds after the San Jose State penalty kick. Strikowski took the ball on a rebound near the top of the box and fired a perfect strike to the top right corner of the net.
It would be the final score of the night for the Hornets but the Spartans were just getting started.
San Jose State scored in the 71st minute, 73rd minute and 80th minute to take a commanding 4-2 lead and held off any late rally to defeat Sacramento State for the first time in three games this season.
The Spartans had an 18-16 edge in shots, 9-6 advantage in shots on goal and 3-2 lead in corner kicks. The Hornets were whistled for 15 fouls compared to 11 for San Jose State.
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