SAN JOSÉ, Calif. – Senior forward
Patrick Toh tied the match at 1-1 late in the first half, but San José State scored two second-half goals to subdue HBU, 3-1, Friday afternoon at Spartan Soccer Field.
Toh scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season to lead HBU (1-6-2 overall, 0-3-0 WAC), while
Alex Baez earned a point on the assist.
Tobenna Uzo had a team-high two shots.
Kevin Suarez suffered the loss in goal as he made seven saves.
Johnathan Colunga had a three-point match for SJSU (4-7-1 overall, 2-1-1 WAC), on a goal and an assist. WAC Offensive Player of the Week, Rory Knibbs, and Carlos Valdovinos scored the other goals. Uriel Ayala took a match-high four shots.
Felix Peterman earned the win in goal as he made two saves.
Suarez denied a good scoring opportunity for the Spartans in the 33
rd minute as Eric Mendez had a point-blank shot.
The Spartans scored the first goal of the match in the 40
th minute, as Colunga scored, assisted by Enrique Montano. With SJSU applying pressure deep in the box, the Huskies were unable to clear. Montano passed the ball to Colungo far-side, who scored top-shelf.
Three minutes later, the Huskies tied the match, as Baez fed Toh with a long pass up the field and Toh beat Peterman high.
SJSU had a 9-3 advantage in shots and 3-2 in corner kicks in the first half.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, in the 54
th minute, the Spartans took a 2-1 lead, as Knibbs scored, assisted by Colunga and Ruben Want. Want passed it to Colunga, who sent a cross pass on the left side of the box, as Knibbs scored far-side.
The Huskies had golden opportunities late in the match to knot the score, one of the best chances coming with 15 minutes left in regulation, as the Huskies were awarded a corner kick.
Thilo Borgmann's corner went to Uzo, but his shot was blocked. The Huskies recycled and came back into the box for a second chance, but were whistled offside.
In the 84
th minute, a header attempt by Baez went just wide. With just over a minute in regulation, HBU was fouled just outside SJSU's box. Uzo took the free kick, but his shot went just over the cross bar.
The Huskies' last opportunity came with 15 seconds left, as Borgmann took another corner kick, but the Spartans kicked it out of harm's way. The ball went to Suarez, who was playing at midfield. Valdovinos took the ball from Suarez and went in all alone for an empty-net goal for a 3-1 SJSU advantage.
Shots were 8-5 SJSU in the second half for a final of 17-8. Second-half corners were tied at 5-all, as the Spartans had a slim 8-7 advantage in the match.
HBU concludes the California road trip at Bakersfield Sunday, Oct. 19 at 3 pm central.