BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The final installment of the Cal State Bakersfield-Cal State Dominguez Hills rivalry at the Main Soccer Field ended on Sunday with a 2-1 Roadrunner victory, but as seems to be the case in every Bakersfield-Toro matchup, this one was filled with controversy.
In the final five minutes, Cal State Dominguez Hills wanted a penalty called when a Toro attacker and Bakersfield's T.J. Brown went to the ground in the box. But no call was awarded and the Roadrunners continued play which sent Lyle Martin on a breakaway, before being nearly tugged to the ground by the final Dominguez Hills defender.
With the referee's back remaining on the play in the Bakersfield box, he did not see Martin on the breakaway and the assistant referee called the foul. Toro defender Alberto Garcia was only cautioned.
But if events in the match went any differently, it wouldn't seem like a match between the Toros and Roadrunners. The long rivalry as two of the top teams in the CCAA and Far West Region came to a close at the Main Soccer Field, and the two teams will play just once more in Carson before the Roadrunners go to a full NCAA Division I schedule in 2007.
Bakersfield had the better run of the match for the first 70 minutes and outshot the Toros 9-3 in the first half, but Dominguez Hills scored against the run of play in the 30th minute. Toro leading goal scorer Sammy Rivas sent a rocket shot into the corner of the goal on an assist from Wilmer Lopez to give Dominguez an early 1-0 lead.
The Roadrunners tied it up just before the half in the 43rd minute when Martin and Joe Polifroni played a nifty game of one-two before finding Mike Esparza one-on-one with Toro goalkeeper Kyle Polak. Esparza had no troubles slipping the ball past Polak to level the score.
Martin scored the eventual game-winner in the 49th minute when Ryan Gay sent Martin behind the defense for another one-on-one opportunity that was finished for his CCAA-leading ninth goal of the season.
Dominguez Hills did have the better of the play in the final 20 minutes and had several quality chances of scoring but could not get the equalizer. The loss was the Toros' fourth in the last five matches after starting the season at 6-0-0. Bakersfield's win improved its record at the Main Soccer Field to 6-0-0 in 2006.
The Roadrunners hit the road again in the upcoming week and will travel to Seaside on Friday to face Cal State Monterey Bay at 3 p.m. in the second half of a women's-men's doubleheader.
California State University, Bakersfield Athletic Department
9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1022
Phone: (661) 654-3071 • FAX: (661) 654-2376
