Box Score BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--The Bakersfield men's soccer team defeated Kansas City 2-0 Sunday to move into second place in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Roadrunners (6-7-2) outshot the Kangaroos (4-7-4) 13-2 in the first half before Hugo Vinales (Fr., Palm Springs, Palm Springs HS) broke the seal with 29 seconds remaining in the opening frame by scoring off a pair of touch passes from Mario Ortiz (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif., Leuzinger HS) and Christian Duarte (So., Houston, Texas, Clear Springs HS).
The 'Runners continued to control play in the second half and with the shots in favor of Bakersfield 23-6, Jonathan Colunga (Fr., Lindsay, Calif., Lindsay HS) put back a David Velasquez (R-Jr., Los Angeles, Calif., Locke HS) rebound in the 88th minute for the final 2-0 score.
"We are very young," said Bakersfield head coach Simon Tobin. "We had eight freshmen on the field at one point. I don't care how good of a player you are, it just takes time to adjust. Usually that takes until your sophomore year for me, but there is no doubt we will be our best by the season's end. We can still get a little bit stronger."
The victory gives the Roadrunners a 4-2-1 league record. CSUB's 13 points puts the 'Runners four points behind the league leader, Seattle U (5-0-2 WAC, 6-8-3). At 3-3-1, Kansas City falls into fourth place (10 points) in the conference, behind UNLV who at 4-3 in conference play, has 12 points (6-9 overall).
"We are happy with the way we played," Tobin said. "I thought we dictated every aspect of the game, defensively, midfield, and attacking. We were really the dominant team for both games this weekend. We have been dominant most games in the conference, but we haven't always converted that. I think we have been working a little bit harder than we have for the last few weeks."
Bakersfield travels to Grand Canyon on Friday night for a 7 p.m. start.
~www.GoRunners.com~