SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's soccer team made it three straight wins on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 overtime win versus UC Santa Cruz at Lower East Field.
- SF State (3-1) recorded its second shutout of the season.
- The Gators have now had eight three-match win streaks or better in the past five seasons. Their longest win streak is five (2016 and 2017).
- The Gators finished with a 12-9 shot advantage and had four corners to two by UCSC (3-4-1).
- Seven yellow cards were handed out, three to Gators (Richard Leon, Crinan Dunbar, and Ruben Gomez, Jr.)
About 25 minutes into action, a flurry of near misses for both teams transpired.The Gators avoided an early deficit in the 28th minute when Ben Blackfield's shot slammed off the crossbar, then Gustav Fink's shot was saved a minute later. Blackfield had another look that was saved. London Lombana and Seiya Otsuka both had first-half shots saved as well. Both teams had shots blocked in the first five minutes of the second half and the next scoring opportunity came in the 59th minute for the Banana Slugs that Swinkels saved. The Gators had five more shots and limited UCSC to one to end regulation.
In overtime, Ramiro Palencia had a shot saved in the 94th minute and had a shot sail high in the 97th minute. Shortly after, SF State goalkeeper Peter Swinkels made a long clearance and the ball found its way into the UCSC box. A Banana Slugs defender fouled Palencia with 2:13 left in overtime and the forward buried the penalty kick to send the Gators home with the win.
Swinkels only faced two shots and saved both. Andrew Pimental kept the Banana Slugs in the game with seven saves before allowing the penalty kick in the 98th minute.
"I'm very proud of the team today on another gritty overtime win. We've battled through a lot of adversity in the opening weeks of season and we have been talking a lot about mental fortitude. The team responded once again by digging in and finding that extra gear to come out on top," — Head Coach Pedro Osório.
SF State turns its focus to the CCAA schedule and heads to Humboldt State (4-1) on Wednesday, September 25. Live video will be available on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstate_msoc.
