Seidenglanz’s Performance Helps Men's Soccer Bounce Back With 7-3 Win Over Menlo
October 8, 2006

Complete Box Score

It didn't take the Cougar men (10-3-0) long to recover from their third loss of the year. One day after losing a close game to U.C. Santa Cruz, the Cougars came back to defeat Menlo College 7-3 on the strength of Bradley Seidenglanz's fantastic day.

Seidenglanz, who dropped to second on the Cougars in scoring after teammate Michael Nuovo recorded three goals yesterday, took back the team scoring lead with a hat trick of his own on Sunday. If that wasn't enough, Seidenglanz also assisted on the Cougars' final three goals of the match, pushing his total points for the game to 9, a CSUSM record. He now has 8 goals and 4 assists on the season.

But it was a team effort that got the job done against Menlo (2-8-0). After falling behind in the 10th minute, the Cougars roared back. In the 19th minute, Seidenglanz got his first goal when he buried a shot off a pass that Chris Wyatt had slipped him behind the defense. Soon after, Seidenglanz recorded his second goal by tapping in the rebound off a Ben Crouse shot.

When Menlo's Cameron Lawrence was able to equalize a minute later, it seemed like the match would remain close throughout.

The Cougars, however, had other ideas. In the 39th minute, Brian Luhrs headed in a well-placed Chris Wyatt free kick for his second goal of the season. With the score 3-2 at the start of the second half, Cougar midfielder Troy Skomra received his second yellow card, and was sent off.

Though they were now a man down, the Cougars’ stepped up their game considerably after the ejection. With more open space on the field, the offense, specifically Seidenglanz, had more room to work, and things began opening up.

Seidenglanz’s third goal came when Bobby Miles played a ball into him in the box. Working his way through the defense, Seidenglanz made his way across the top of the box, and blasted a shot past the keeper to the far post.

Having scored three goals, Seidenglanz proceeded to set up his teammates for three more. First, he slid a pass to set up Daniel Vasquez on a breakaway. Then he made an unbelievable cross that found Miguel Jacobo on the far post for a tap-in. Finally, after Menlo’s Julian Baldaccini got his second goal to make the score 6-3, Seidenglanz drilled a free kick off the post, and the rebound was cleaned up by Joey Hill.

Overall, Coach Ron Pulvers was blown away by Seidenglanz’s game.

“It was one of the best individual performances by any athlete I’ve ever coached,” said Pulvers. “I’ve never had any flank player produce in a game like Bradley did. He was on a totally different level.”

Though the story of the game was Seidenglanz, Demitri Hidalgo quietly sparked the team’s late surge. Coming off the bench soon after Skomra was sent off, Hidalgo’s crisp passing and high effort energized the team, and changed the complexion of the game.

In the end, the 7-3 score would hold up, getting the men's team back on the winning track. The squad will take the field at La Sierra on October 18th before heading home on October 20th to face Chapman University at 4:00 PM.