SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State men's soccer team opened the home portion of its 2009 schedule on a convincing note Tuesday, blanking Notre Dame de Namur, 4-0, in a non-conference match at Cox Stadium. Sophomore Roberto Escobar (San Francisco, California, Mission HS) and freshman Edgar Villagrena (Pittsburg, California, Pittsburg) scored two goals apiece, helping the Gators improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Argonauts remain winless at 0-3.
“Any time you can shut an opponent out is impressive,” said SF State head coach Joe Hunter. “We addressed a couple of things after the Seattle Pacific game last Saturday and took those to the table. We played very solid today.”
The Gators took control of the game in latter stages of the first half when Villagrena tallied his first collegiate off a corner kick from
Spencer Schwandt (Napa, California, Vintage) in the 36
th minute. SF State quickly padded the lead on its next possession as Escobar gathered a crossing pass from senior
Dylan Glass (Rancho Cucamonga, California, Alta Loma) and found the back of the net from five feet out in the right wing, giving the home team a 2-0 cushion at the 37:45 mark.
The Gators showed no signs of letting up after intermission as Villagrena hit pay dirt off a pass from Escobar with just 1:11 elapsed in the period. SF State then closed out the scoring after Glass fed Escobar for the second time in the contest during the 60th minute.
Freshman goalkeeper
Mike McNeill (Oakdale, California, Oakdale HS) was pressed to make just one save on the afternoon en route to the shutout, while the Argos' Isiah Castro made three stops of his own. As a team, SF State finished with a 14-6 advantage in shots, including a 7-1 cushion in attempts on goal.
The Gators return to the pitch on Thursday, Sept. 3, when they lock horns with Menlo College in another non-conference clash at Cox Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m.
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