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-- See video of the past weeks games at the bottom of this page --
In front of almost 700 fans, the men's soccer team, led by first-year coach Felipe Restrepo, continued its season's success with wins against Western Washington University and Humboldt State, continuing its early season momentum.
In a marquee weekend for the nationally ranked No. 20 Wildcats, the team won a nail-biting 2-1 finish against the Vikings, which saw true freshman Nick Tedrow score the winning goal with 1 minute, 7 seconds remaining in the second overtime Sept. 10.
The win was followed by a matchup Sunday against the Humboldt State Lumberjacks in the Wildcats' first test within the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Despite a slow first half, the Wildcats amounted a daunting 12 shots compared with the Lumberjacks two, going into halftime scoreless. Patience and altogether great ball movement by the Wildcats kept the Lumberjacks quiet. The Wildcats continued to pile on the shots in the second half.
Ten minutes into the second half, midfielder Kyle Crain scrambled down the right sideline, drawing the defender with him. He then passed to defender Adam Raish, who took three steps before bending a cross toward Humboldt's back post where it met the forehead of Zac Crim. The Wildcat midfielder netted the ball into the left-hand side of the goal, just past the fingertips of goalkeeper Drew Ryan.
"It felt good, I like scoring goals," Crim said. "I think it's like my fourth goal and I just wanna keep scoring and winning games."
Raish continued playing the offensive side of the ball from his defender position. He tallied his second assist of the game, and season, just nine minutes later.
Dashing forward for a quick corner pass, he sent a cross toward the back post to Crim once again. This time, however, the goalkeeper anticipated the cross and collided with Crim midair, sending both to the grass and the ball rolling to the top of the box. There, midfielder Ryan Struckmeyer took the ball and drilled it for a wide-open goal.
"It felt great ... too excited," Struckmeyer said. "I told my teammates, 'When I score my first goal I'm coming right to you guys to celebrate.'"
The Wildcats held onto the 2-0 lead for the win, but were unable to convert any other scoring opportunities.
"Soccer's a funny thing, it's probably the hardest thing to do in soccer - to score a goal. And I think we were fortunate to score two," Restrepo said.
The team's consistent play has led them to a respectable 4-0 start, a feat that only Restrepo can claim, as the first Chico State head coach to start a season with that record.
"I'm excited for the group, they're working really hard, building confidence and slowly knowing how to win," Restrepo said.
He spent time coaching nearby at UC Davis and - although he won't admit to the glory - he carries a confident but subtle attitude toward his team.
"We're just looking to improve every day, we're not looking too far down the line," Restrepo said.
Video by Juan Aguilar and Rodolfo Vazquez
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