SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's soccer team exploded for a 7-0 victory over host Academy of Art on Friday afternoon Paul Goode Field.
- Friday's margin of victory was the program's largest since a 9-0 win over then College of Notre Dame in the 1989 season.
- The seven goals were the most by the Gators dating back to a 7-1 victory over then Humboldt State on October 25, 2017.
- SF State (1-1-1) has now won five consecutive meetings over the Urban Knights (0-3).
- Despite dominating the offensive end, the Gators were edged 6-4 in corner kicks. The Gators scored off of one set piece.
- Five different Gators scored. Denis Vezina scored the first two goals of the game, and Julio Gonzalez Ponce added a brace as well, giving him the current team lead with three on the season.
Vezina got the Gators going in the seventh minute when Johnny Kuwano crossed it to him from the left wing. The duo connected again in the 12th minute when Kuwano dribbled up the left wing and crossed it to
Vezina, who tapped it in for the finish. Up 2-0 at the half, the Gators added another goal early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Vezina played the ball from the right wing and dished to Gonzalez Ponce, who scored in the box. A couple of minutes later, the Gators earned a free kick after a foul near the top of the box. Gustavo Ferrari bent it in for the team's fourth goal of the day. Then, in the 56th minute, Yeonhyuk Kwak bent a corner kick from the right side that Gonzalez Ponce headed right through the goalkeeper's gloves. In the 77th minute, Finn Schwarck played the ball ahead to Yamato Kasahara, who beat his defender and the goalkeeper. In the final minute, Kasahara connected with Thor Skrindo, who scored in his first career appearance for the Gators.
Matias Herrera Fuentes logged his third career shutout and made three saves. ART U goalkeeper Davis King made two saves and allowed all seven Gators goals.
Last year and the Colorado game, we've dropped some 2-0 games before. We're looking to have a different mentality towards that scoreline. Once we were up 2-0 at halftime, you could see the intensity from the players. Are we going to walk out here 2-1, 2-2, or up 4-5-6? It was nice to see the guys respond and expand on it. ," said Head Coach Pedro Osório. "One of our biggest strengths is the depth. We were able to play so many guys today, not necessarily because it was a blowout, but because we're 23 players deep."
SF State has the long weekend off and will be back in action on Saturday, September 11 at Dominican (2-0). The match will be broadcast by the Penguins with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstate_msoc.
