CHICO, Calif. – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team opened its season against Chico Stat on Thursday night with chances for goals coming early for the Falcons, but they couldn't convert before falling 2-0 to the Wildcats.
"It was a frustrating one," head coach Kevin Sakuda said. "It took us a little while to find our rhythm. We had a lot of control, but ultimately, we needed to make plays to win games. Credit to Chico for making it extremely difficult on us."
The Falcons threatened early in the first half. Connor Tollan had a try from the top of the box and sent the ball to the keeper. Unfortunately, Chico's Emanuel Padilla dove to his left and kept the ball out of the net. The solid save kept the match tied at 0-0.
The Wildcats erased the 0-0 tie in the 7th minute. Miles Rice scored, giving Chico State an early 1-0 lead.
Newcomer Raymundo Mendez nearly tied the match in the 33rd minute. He brought the ball into the box and made a brilliant move to become open at the top of the six-yard box. He ripped a low shot that Padilla barely got a hand on. SPU had a chance on Aidan Drought's corner but did not find the back of the net. The Falcons continued to chase a goal.
The Falcons had another dangerous chance in the 38th minute. Drought ripped a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box that just missed high. JJ Diaz and Brady Fendrich peppered shots in the final five minutes of the first half that didn't go through. The Wildcats held a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Falcons kept the pressure on in the second half. Diaz rifled another shot toward the goal. The ball was headed toward the bottom left corner before it was stopped by Padilla.
The Wildcats would go on to sit on the ball and protect their lead throughout the remainder of the match. They added another goal from Rice in the 90th minute and took the game 2-0.
"I think the boys will be motivated to improve their performance on Saturday," Sakuda added. "We need to start a little quicker and a bit more on the front foot from the start on Saturday. We know Sonoma is another quality team, but we believe in the players we have in the group and know they will respond well."
The Falcons return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. as they take on Sonoma State in Rohnert Park, CA.
