San Jose State’s men’s soccer team challenged Air Force Academy’s seven-game winning streak in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), tying 1-1 on Friday at Cadet Soccer Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Spartans sparked entertaining team play, reaching its peak when junior winger Joel Garcia scored the momentaneous 1-0 after an assist by junior forward Isaac Lomeli.
At Minute 88, the Falcons responded with an unexpected late equalizer by senior defender Tyler Johnson, denying the three-point win to SJSU.
Spartans head coach Simon Tobin said going away with a tie against the top team in the conference is a good result, but players and coaching staff were devastated after the game.
“When you are 1-0 and you have only two minutes to go . . . little bit of a disappointing end to the game,” Tobin said.
Garcia agreed with that feeling and said the team performed well for the whole game.
“It is unfortunate that we didn’t end up getting the three points especially after the hard work coming from the group,” Garcia said.
He also said playing in Colorado Springs was difficult.
“Without a doubt the elevation, cold weather and their home advantage was the adversity that the team had to face,” Garcia said.
From the very beginning, the game resulted in a physical clash between the two teams.
While Air Force performed a high-pressing game, SJSU managed good ball possession, showcasing some rapid offenses.
Specifically, the passing between the Spartans worked as the engine for their majority of goal opportunities.
At Minute 1, the Spartans exhibited their first offense when defender Eduardo Miranda intercepted the ball near the sideline.
After a run on the wing, Miranda moved to the center edge of the box and managed to avoid the Falcons pressing by passing the ball to Lomeli, who quickly served senior midfielder Finlay Wood.
The Spartans’ passing was quick and Falcons defenders seemed to lose their focus, but when Wood had a good opportunity on his left foot, the shot ended wide above the Air Force crossbar.
The Falcons did not wait for the Spartans, building up two dangerous goal opportunities.
At Minute 2, Air Force obtained a free kick next to the center circle and senior midfielder Jake Angeletti crossed into the Spartans box.
SJSU defenders did not reach the sphere, allowing a bounce into the box where Air Force junior forward Thaddaeus Dewing performed an acrobatic kick.
The execution was delivered, but the ball ended up slightly above the left corner of the Spartans crossbar.
However, the Falcons’ hard work on pressing started to pay off with a series of opportunities within the first minutes of play when the Spartans struggled to exit from its half of the field.
At Minute 3, the Spartans defense faced another great risk when, after a cross from the left wing, senior goalkeeper David Sweeney pushed the ball without blocking it, allowing the Falcons to shoot toward SJSU’s goal.
The ball got blocked by the Spartans senior defender Kasper Poulsgaard, but his clearance was risky.
Because of the Falcons’ pressing, Poulsgaard delivered the ball on the feet of the Air Force forward who kicked in the direction of SJSU’s goal, but the ball slightly brushed the left goal post, finishing outside the pitch.
As minutes passed, the Spartans boosted their confidence and delivered a few offensive plays.
At Minute 19, SJSU builded a quick team-play offense when sophomore midfielder Beau Leroux intercepted the ball in the center circle.
Leroux quickly passed the ball to Wood, who opened on the right wing where Miranda controlled it.
What followed was a series of short passes through narrow spaces between Wood, Lomeli, Hermino Padilla and Garcia.
The Falcons defense had no time to react and Garcia localized the perfect corridor on the right side of the edge box.
Padilla saw his movement and served the SJSU winger with a well-calibrated sliding pass.
Garcia’s conclusion was powerful and the Air Force goalkeeper couldn’t reach it, making 1-0 for SJSU.
Garcia, who was happy about his performance, said the goal came from recovery runs and the unselfishness that characterizes the team.
“The goal was really important and without a doubt made a statement to the opposing teams,” Garcia said.
For the rest of the game, the Spartans handled several defensive plays, stopping the Falcons offense.
However, at Minute 54, Isaac Lomeli received the ball at the box edge and, with a fairly touch, dribbled the defender behind him, who stretched the leg making Lomeli fall down.
The referee did not call for the foul, unleashing the players’ protests.
Lomeli said he knew the pressure was growing on him after receiving that ball at the edge of the Falcons box.
“I passed him and he brought me down by kicking me,” Lomeli said. “I did in fact think it was a foul because of the way the game was going.”
Simon Tobin received a yellow card a few minutes later because he was protesting with the referee.
At Minute 88, Air Force gained a corner kick.
The Falcons midfielder Jake Angeletti crossed the ball into the Spartans box finding Air Force defender Tyler Johnson, who exhibited a strong header unreachable by SJSU’s defense, making 1-1.
The Cadet Soccer Stadium’s crowd cheered.
Following Friday’s tie, SJSU lost its second place spot in conference after suffering a 1-0 loss against Grand Canyon University (4-2-2) at GCU Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona.
SJSU’s men’s soccer team (4-1-2), currently at fourth place in the WAC, is scheduled to play its last conference game against Seattle University (5-3) on Friday at the Spartan Soccer Complex.
