U of R Men’s Soccer Falls to Cal Baptist in Exhibition Match, 1-2
The University of Redlands men's soccer team took on Cal Baptist University in an exhibition contest on Saturday evening in Riverside, coming up just short against the Division II squad, losing 1-2. After falling behind by two goals midway through the second stanza, the Bulldogs cut the deficit in half and then almost completed the comeback during the final seconds of the exciting match.
Both sides traded good opportunities during the first half, with the best chance coming when Redlands earned a penalty-kick in the 27th minute. That penalty was saved by the Cal Baptist goalkeeper, however, sending the game into halftime tied, 0-0.
The Lancers struck twice in three minutes during the second stanza, finding the back of the net in the 61st and 63rd minutes.
Redlands, not going down without a fight, battled back in front of a crowd of over 1,000 fans and cut the lead in half when Bulldog freshman forwardMatt Speegle (Castro, CA) got behind the Lancers' defense and slotted a shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.
After the goal, the U of R pushed forward and tried to find the equalizer. The Bulldogs recorded two shots and two corner-kicks during those final five minutes, and even had a late breakaway opportunity during the final seconds, but could not find the back of the net, resulting in the one-goal defeat.
On the evening, the Lancers outshot the Bulldogs by a narrow 9-7 margin, but Redlands held the slight advantage in corner-kicks, racking up five total as compared to just three for Cal Baptist. Senior midfielder Will Walker(Folsom, CA) provided two shots on the night, while junior midfielder Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV) was credited with one shot.
The U of R returns to action when it opens up its regular season with a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match against Occidental College on Wednesday, September 11. Kickoff at Farquhar Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
