SEATTLE—CSU Bakersfield and WAC co-leader Utah Valley played to a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon in league play.

“Today was a hard fought Sunday match,” said CSUB head coach Richie Grant. “Both teams traveled a lot yesterday, so you could see that the energy levels were low. I was pleased how our kids competed today.”

Coming off a 3-1 loss in which he gave up all three goals at Seattle U on Friday, CSUB keeper Nicolas Clever bounced back with his second shutout of the season and the ninth of his career. Clever made five saves.

“Nick made some big saves,” Grant said. “The whole team needed to step up coming off a loss. Every time we have dropped a game, we have responded with a tie or win.

The shots were few and far between in the first half as the teams combined for five attempts. Despite holding the advantage in corner kicks (4-1 in both the first and second half), CSUB was outshot in the second 9-4.

Karson Payton had a wide open net in the 62nd minute, but his right-footed blast went off the post and bounced back to Clever in front.  Bryan Celis' attempt for the Roadrunners in the 77th minute was turned away by UVU(11-4-1, 4-1-1 WAC) goalie Collin Partee. Clever made a save on Aaron Meyer's shot in the 81st minute, the ball bounced in front to Connor Salmon who sent the ball just wide. With 19 seconds remaining in regulation, Meyer again sent an attempt on goal in which Clever was able to make a save.

The Roadrunners had the only two shots in the first overtime, but both went wide.  A Donnett Sackie attempt was blocked by the CSUB defense. Julian Zamora recorded the best CSUB chance in the 103rd minute. Christian Duarte sent a pass to Zamora in front of the Utah Valley net. His header appeared to be online, but Partee swatted the ball away for a CSUB corner kick.

The 'Runners couldn't capitalize on the set play as UVU sent the ball out of the offensive zone. The last CSUB corner came with 49 seconds, but the Roadrunners were turned away.  Payton sent a blast towards the CSUB net at the buzzer but the shot was high and the game ended in the 0-0 tie.

“Utah Valley presents a physical challenge due to their height and we knew we needed to defend well on set plays and I thought we were excellent on that today,” Grant said. “Not just Nick, but our entire backline played very well.”

Utah Valley would outshoot CSU Bakersfield 14-9 for the match, 6-3 on goal. The Roadrunners held a 1-3 lead in corner kicks. Partee would make three saves.

The Roadrunners (4-4-4, 1-2-2 WAC) host Air Force Friday night at 7:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the CSUB women's program. The Roadrunner women host Seattle U at 5 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com. The game will also be featured on the WAC Digital Network.

~www.GoRunners.com~