BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Cal State Bakersfield sophomore
Fabio Joaquim scored in the 67th minute to thwart a comeback attempt by Western Washington in the eventual 4-2 Roadrunner win in front of 345 fans at the Main Soccer Field on Tuesday.
Joaquim took a pass from Manny Garcia on the left side and buried his left-footed shot into the far corner to give Bakersfield a 3-2 lead before an insurance goal set up the final scoreline.
With the 4-2 win, Bakersfield moves to 3-0-0 all-time against Western Washington and has scored a total of 10 goals in those three matches. The two teams have scored plenty of goals in their three meetings, with the Roadrunners outscoring WWU by a combined 10-5 margin.
Lyle Martin appeared to put the match away early for Bakersfield after scoring a pair of first half goals. The first came in the 16th minute when Ryan Gay was dragged down on a breakaway inside the box by Kenny Mueller to set a penalty kick. Martin sent WWU goalkeeper Michael Lockwood the wrong way and had a simple finish for his seventh goal of the year.
He scored his eighth goal of the year less than seven minutes later on an assist from Gay. The clever sophomore Gay flipped a ball behind him and behind the Viking defense for Martin, who shot from 18 yards and buried the ball inside the far post for the early 2-0 lead.
Martin has now scored 20 goals in his career and moves into a tie for No. 8 on Bakersfield's all-time career goal scoring list with Aaron Ellis (1988-89). Martin needs one more goal to move into a tie for No 6 on that same list with Tiley Nunnick (1988-91) and Jeremy Hamm (1997, 99).
The Vikings came back to tie the score after Gus Zadra scored in the 38th minute on a cross from Paul Kimbrough, followed by a 55th minute goal by Sean Connor on a free kick from 30 yards. Connor appeared to be sending the ball to the far post for an attempted header which sent Bakersfield goalkeeper Steve Trojanowski out of his goal mouth, but the ball curled back into the goal before Trojanowski could recover.
But Joaquim scored the game-winner in the 67th minute and Manny Guzman scored his second of the year in the 72nd minute on an assist from Marcus Mulick for insurance.
The Roadrunners return to the Main Soccer Field on Friday when they host UC San Diego at 7 p.m. in the second half of a doubleheader.
California State University, Bakersfield Athletic Department
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Phone: (661) 654-3071 • FAX: (661) 654-2376
