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Box Score
As the Cougar bench ran onto
their home field immediately after the final whistle blew in
Thursday’s 1-0 win over U.C. Santa Cruz, you could overhear a player
saying, “The second season starts now!”
Maybe it does.
After a disappointing 2-6 start to the year, the Cougars rallied to
best a solid Santa Cruz squad 1-0 on Thursday. The game was played
not just in front of a large home crowd, but in front of numerous
community figures who were watching from the President’s Terrace.
What they saw was a physical, hard-fought contest that the Cougars
won for one reason: defense. Thanks to CSUSM’s rock-solid defense
for all 90 minutes, Cougar keeper Tashi Nakinishi had to make just
one save in posting his second shutout in Cougar blue.
“The back four were very tidy today; they kept their shape and won
balls in the air,” noted Head Coach Ron Pulvers. “Tashi also
organized very well.”
That back line of Brian Luhrs, Greg Reese, Chris Dunckel, and Jose
Rivas frustrated Santa Cruz’s attack, allowing very few scoring
opportunities. And when a ball got free, the midfield was there to
clean it up – with Chris Wyatt playing a particularly good game.
It was fitting, then, that the game’s lone goal actually came from
the Cougar defense. In just the 9th minute of the game, Chris Wyatt
struck a corner kick into the box. The ball was deflected a few
times, and eventually found the foot of Reese, who drilled it out of
the air and into the net. The goal was Reese’s first as a Cougar.
“Greg has really been putting in great effort and playing well for
us,” said Pulvers. “It’s nice to see him show up in the box score.”
At that point, it looked like Thursday’s game might be a
high-scoring affair. But both defenses clamped down for the
remainder of the contest. In fact, after Reese’s goal, the Cougars
would not put another shot on net.
It didn’t matter, as the defense held and CSUSM celebrated its 1-0
victory. The team is now 3-6 on the year, and will look to improve
on that record Saturday at Master’s College.
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