Despite Nuovo's Hat Trick, Men's Soccer Loses to Santa Cruz
October 7, 2006

Complete Box Score

In a tightly contested game with the #12 team in NCAA Division III, the Cougar men gave a strong effort and got one great individual performance, but fell just short, losing to U.C. Santa Cruz 4-3 on Saturday.

One week after Courtney Drummond recorded the first ever hat trick in CSUSM's history, Mike Nuovo became the first member of the men's team to perform the feat. Nuovo found the back of the net three times, and each of his goals tied the game or gave the Cougars the lead. It was a terrific individual performance to say the least, and Nuovo now leads the Cougars with 7 goals on the season.

In the first ten minutes, the Cougars were absolutely on fire, and had a chance to bury Santa Cruz early. They generated three breakaway opportunities and hit the post twice. Mike Nuovo was able to convert one of the chances when Curtis Marcikic hit a shot across the net and Nuovo tipped it in; but when the dust settled, CSUSM found itself up only 1-0.

Nuovo’s second goal came on a long throw-in. The ball bounced a couple times before finding him at the top of the box. Nuovo struck a volley perfectly, hitting an absolute rocket that the keeper had no chance to stop from reaching the upper corner of the net.

The hat trick was completed with five minutes left to play. Bradley Seidenglanz took a free kick in the offensive zone, and found Nuovo behind the defense for a tap-in. At that point, it looked as if the Cougars would be able to hold on for a draw.

But on Saturday, it wasn't enough to defeat a very strong U.C. Santa Cruz squad. Unlike the Cougars, Santa Cruz’s goals came from three different sources. Harry Abraham, Matt Skenazy and Steve Wondolowski all found the back of the net, with Abraham notching a second with just two minutes to go, which proved to be the game winner.

It was an uncharacteristically rough match for the Cougar defense, which has been terrific for nearly all of this season up to this point. Keeper Trent Painter did not have his best match either. Many of Santa Cruz’s chances came due to defensive miscues, including the game winner, which was a result of a total defensive breakdown.

Still, there were some bright spots, especially with regards to the offense. Aside from Mike Nuovo’s obviously-great performance, Bradley Seidenglanz played a very strong game, as well as the midfielders as a group, especially Chris Wyatt. Bobby Miles came in off the bench and played great soccer, proving to Coach Ron Pulvers that he’s ready to handle more playing time.

In what was a very physical match, the Cougars suffered some key injuries. Defender Brian Luhrs and midfielder Chris Dunckel both had to leave the game, and their playing status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.

The Cougars won't have long to lick their wounds; they'll stay in Santa Cruz Saturday night, and play a game against Menlo College on Sunday before returning home.