BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The CSUB men's soccer team played to a scoreless draw against Vanguard University at Main Soccer Field on Thursday.
After falling 2-0 to Stanford on Tuesday, the 'Runners returned home to face the Lions of Vanguard. Much like its performance in Palo Alto, CSUB struggled to find a rhythm when on the attack, totaling three shots—only one on goal—in the first half.
Dante Niño and Jacob Alatorre managed to find a connection down the sideline midway through the first half, with both players feeding one another multiple times in a several minute span. Midfielder Christian Duarte, named to the Hermann Trophy (given to college soccer's top player) watch list earlier this month, sent a corner kick in the 28th minute back to Jamie Carey-Morrell, who sent a long shot into the box. But the 'Runners were unable to convert those chances into goals, a recurring theme for both sides throughout the game.
CSUB head coach Richie Grant shuffled his lineup to begin the second frame, inserting his other Hermann Trophy watch list player—redshirt sophomore Julian Zamora—into his XI. The changes seemed to spark the 'Runners attack: CSUB tallied six shots in the second half, including three on goal. Substitute Daniel Dreier was particularly aggressive, managing two shots in the final 45 minutes.
Carey-Morrell had CSUB's best scoring chance of the night with under two minutes to play, sending a free kick from outside the 18-yard box just over the goalpost. The 'Runners backline sent a ball over the top to forward Brian Charles with just seconds remaining, but to no avail.
The teams went to an agreed-upon penalty kicks session after the match ended in a draw. Zamora missed high on CSUB's first attempt, but Grant's squad was able to regroup and took the shootout 5-4.
“I though the effort was excellent, because we're heavy in the middle of preseason camp,” Grant said. “We've been going for twenty straight sessions. I thought the effort was very good.
“We've worked on our defending; it looked pretty solid tonight. We now just have to clean up the way we want to attack teams.”
CSUB will wrap-up its preseason schedule at its Alumni Match on Saturday. The day will begin at 1 p.m. with an alumni lunch in the Icardo Center. At 5 p.m. the Over 35s alumni game will get underway and will be followed by a 7v7 match between the sons and daughters of the alumni at 5:30 p.m. The day concludes at 7 p.m. with the alumni facing the current Roadrunner squad.
For more information on taking part, contact CSUB assistant coach Gerry Cleary at 661-654-2598 or gcleary@csub.edu.
Following the alumni match, the 'Runners are on the road for their first three regular season games, beginning with an Aug. 29 match at Denver. CSUB's home opener is Friday, Sept. 11, against Loyola Marymount.
Single game tickets are available online at vallitix.com while season and group tickets are available by calling 654-BLUE.
~GoRunners.com~
