SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's soccer team continued its march to a potential back-to-back playoff appearance with a 4-0 blowout of visiting Stanislaus State on Friday at Cox Stadium.
The Golden Gators (9-3-3/6-3-2 CCAA) capitalized on the Warriors' (6-9-0/2-8-0 CCAA) mistakes and, in doing so, dashed Stan State's postseason hopes. SF State now has 20 points, though the Gators' bye week falls on the final week of the regular season, meaning most CCAA teams have two or three more contests remaining to make up ground.
Stanislaus State came close to taking the momentum in the 11th minute. A dangerous header off of the free kick bounced to the left of goalkeeper
Peter Swinkels but he was nimble enough to scoop it up before the ball crossed the goal line. The Gators countered but
Gustav Fink's shot sailed high. In the 19th minute,
Moses Gutierrez played a ball through the box to
Carlos Trujeque leal, who also put a little too much on it and booted the ball high.
A Warriors yellow card in the 32nd minute proved costly. The ball was marked just outside of the box on the left side.
Jorden Wusstig's free kick curved perfectly into the box, where
Brandt Dixon headed the ball on the right side of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
The Gators nearly doubled the lead to begin the second half but Aydan Bower's header off of a corner kick in the 51st minute missed wide. Bowers connected in the 54th minute on a free kick at the top of the box as a result of a yellow card.
In the 77th minute,
Clayton Sato played a ball into the box that was deflected but Wusstig settled the ball on the left side and finished to the far post for an insurance goal.
Maximiliano Maciel's free kick from the left side in the 82nd minute set up
Tariq Pulskamp's diving header that capped off the scoring rout.
The Gators host Chico State on Sunday, October 21 at 11:30 a.m. Fans will want to arrive early for the Senior Day festivities as the Gators honor their 10 graduating seniors: Bowers,
Brandon Brunac,
CJ Camacho, Dixon, Maciel,
Uzoma Onuoma,
Nolan Parker, Pulskamp, Trujeque leal, and Wusstig. Live stats and video will be available at
sfstategators.com and in-game updates will be available on Twitter at
@sfstate_msoc.