Coach Artie Cairel was impressed with his players’ performance after the game saying, “We train a certain way every week, and our guys go out there and give it everything they’ve got. We just want to win.”
The first half of the match was even, with neither team showing much weakness. San Francisco State University’s (SFSU) Ezra Mendoza and CSUMB’s Brenden Baca both made several key saves in the first half, which brought the teams into halftime at a 0-0 stalemate.
But the game wouldn’t stay scoreless for long. In the seventy-third minute, SFSU was penalized and CSUMB had a free kick from about 25 yards out from the goal. Andy Breault connected with the ball and arched it high toward the goal. The ball came down inside the goal box, and senior Kyle Millerick took it from there, chipping the ball into the net for the first score of the afternoon.
“It was just a one touch,” said Millerick, “I just kicked it with the outside of my foot and it went in.”
That score put the Otters up 1-0 with a little over 16 minutes to play. But the Gators weren’t going down quietly. When SFSU kicked off they were relentless going down the field. They showed an offensive prowess that they had yet to exhibit up to that point. Their hard work finally paid off late when a corner kick set up an opportunity for them to score.
The kick was accurate, coming straight down inside the goal box. Once the ball came down, there was a frenzy of grass and cleats and someone from that pile kicked the ball at the goal. The ball got tipped and came straight down, at an angle where the audience couldn’t see whether it was on the line or not. A CSUMB player cleared the ball, but the refs ruled that the ball was on the line, and that it indeed was a goal.
In the last few minutes of regulation, both teams went all out. The time was highlighted by a quick twitch save by Baca, who in a one on one situation in the eighty-sixth minute, jumped high in the air to fist the ball over the top of the goal.
With the score tied at 1 at the end of regulation, a 10-minute sudden death period ensued. In the ninety-sixth minute after a CSUMB save, Baca drop kicked (bombed) the ball 70 yards down the field where forward Andrew Burkhammer seized possession. Burkhammer dribbled right using fancy footwork, and hammered the ball into the upper left corner of the goal. Not even a sweet extension dive from Mendoza could stop the fastball from slicing into the net.
“I mean, you make decisions on the pitch,” said Burkhammer, “It just felt like the right time to be a little greedy.”
CSUMB’s victory gives them a great shot at making the Division II playoffs in their first season of eligibility. If Cal Poly Pomona loses this Friday, all that is needed for a CSUMB playoff birth is a win or tie at L.A. State on Sunday.
“We’ve got a good shot at it,” said Cairel, “Pomona is playing the seconed best team in the league and there’s a good chance they lose.” With a Pomona loss, the Otters’ path to the playoffs will be in their hands.
