BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--CSU Bakersfield (8-4-5, 5-3-1 MPSF) played Air Force (8-7-3, 5-2-2 MPSF) to a 1-1 tie in men's soccer action Sunday afternoon.
After a scoreless half, CSUB scored in the 52nd minute on Jesus Sanchez's (Sr., Chula Vista, Calif., Castle Park HS) fourth goal of the year. Lucas Dall'Orso (So., Orange County, Calif., JSerra Catholic HS) and Gyasi Zardes (R-Jr., Hawthorne, Calif., Leuzinger HS) earned the assists on the play. Brian Klazura's blast from 25 yards tied the score in the 56th minute.
The Roadrunners outshot the Falcons 31-12, 16-1 on goal. The 31 shots are a new CSUB Division I team record, breaking the old mark of 26 which was set on two occasions. Zardes tied his own school record for most shots in a match with 11. The Roadunners held a 12-5 advantage on corner kicks.
"These are the days when I ask, 'Why am I coaching this sport?," said CSUB head coach Simon Tobin. "In most sports, if you totally dominate a team like we did today, you come away with a win. I don't know many other sports where you can do that, so it's cruel, but at the same time the beauty of soccer is the defending work as well and their goalkeeper made some supreme saves in the first half. We dominated every aspect of the game, so it is frustrating to get the tie. I am happy with the way we played, there could have been some more work in finishing, but credit to Air Force. The ball dropped and they hit a spectacular shot and the ball went it."
It was the final regular season home match for CSUB's five seniors. Zardes was also honored with his class although he has one year of eligibility remaining.
"People forget this is only the third year we have been eligibile for the Division I tournament," Tobin said. "This is our seniors team. They took us to Division I. They helped make us one of the top programs in Division I in a very short time. A big part of a good program is the recruiting and they are some of the best players in the country. They make coaching easy and have all done a great service to this program."
The Roadrunners have 16 points in MPSF play, three more than San Jose State who won on Sunday, and four more than UNLV who lost Sunday. A win or a tie at UNLV Friday night will clinch the Pacific Division and a first round bye in the MPSF Tournament.
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