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-- See video of the Oct. 1 game against Cal. State Stanislaus at the bottom of this page --
After a difficult week of conference play, the men's soccer team split its weekend games to keep its place atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division.
The Wildcats, coming off a road-weekend split, took the field against Cal State Stanislaus at home Oct. 1.
The last place Warriors gave the 'Cats all they could handle. The difference came on sophomore Kevin Gibson's goal in the 41st minute.
Gibson's opportunity came off a near header by freshman Aren Dawkins, setting up Gibson in a difficult position near the end line with an open goal.
"Once it bounced over the first guy, I just followed the ball," Gibson said.
But the Wildcats sustained a big blow in the 58th minute, when sophomore Ryan Struckmeyer was given a red card for an aggressive tackle.
Head coach Felipe Restrepo, putting the responsibility on his team, said players often run the risk of getting red cards in a 1-0 game by making assertive slide tackles.
"I give it to Ryan, he plays hard every day," Restrepo said.
Down a man, the Wildcats held off Stanislaus, walking away with a 1-0 win.
"We did the little things right in the second half," Restrepo said. "All of the games in the CCAA are tough."
Gibson acknowledged the nature of the game, but found pride in the final result.
"We found a way to win an ugly game," he said.
The 'Cats followed up the win by heading down to play Cal State L.A., a team tied for first in the CCAA South Division.
The No. 11 Golden Eagles struggled to score until the 53rd minute.
Cal State L.A.'s Miguel Cucue, in the midst of a crowd, got a foot on the ball and put it past Michael Keohane for a 1-0 lead.
Tobias Hummel, goalkeeper for the Golden Eagles, kept the 'Cats out of the net despite senior Zac Crim nearly evening it up for Chico State on multiple occasions.
"It's super frustrating when you have so many chances to score," Crim said.
Cal State L.A. "just got lucky," he said.
While the Wildcats, 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the CCAA, retain their spot atop the North Division, they are third overall in the CCAA.
Next up for the Wildcats are Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC San Diego at home Friday and Sunday.
Thomas Lawrence can be reached at tlawrence@theorion.com
Video by Zac Fernandez
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