Cal men fall to San Diego State

SAN DIEGO – No. 10/13 California lost to San Diego State, 2-1, in overtime on Morgan Sacco's 100th-minute golden goal on Sunday at SDSU Sports Deck. Golden Bears junior defender A.J. Soares had converted a penalty kick late in regulation to send the match to overtime tied at 1-1. After its second straight Pac-10 Conference loss, Cal's record fell to 8-5-0 (2-3-0 Pac-10). San Diego State improved to 4-4-4 (1-2-2).

Cal outshot the Aztecs, 8-6, in a nevertheless scoreless first half. Each side had its share of scoring chances, including junior midfielder Hector Jimenez’s 36th-minute shot that San Diego State goalkeeper Brad Byrns saved. In the 38th minute, Sacco ripped a low shot that Cal sophomore goalkeeper David Bingham likewise saved.

Junior midfielder Demitrius Omphroy made some nice moves to get through the SDSU defense and fire a shot that forced a diving shot out of Byrns in the 40th minute. Omphroy generated another shot on goal in the 41st minute, with a ball that deflected off an Aztecs defender and wound up in Byrns’ grasp.

SDSU’s Steve Beitashour fired a shot from 22 yards that Bingham saved 20 seconds from halftime.

Beitashour and teammate Justin Davies assisted on their team’s first goal in the 78th minute, as Beitashour dribbled into the Cal box and passed to Davies, who one-touched the ball back to Raymundo Reza. The Aztecs forward scored from 12 yards out to give his team a 1-0 lead.

After an Aztecs’ foul in Cal's penalty area, Soares scored his career-high third goal of the season with the ensuing penalty kick, which tied the match at 1-1 in the 89th minute and eventually sent the game to overtime. The SDSU coaching staff also picked up one yellow card and two red cards after the penalty kick.

Forty-four seconds from the end of the first overtime period, Raymundo dribbled down the flank and passed to Daniel Ortega, whose cross found Sacco deep in the Cal box. Sacco tapped in the ball from three yards away for the winning goal.

Bingham wound up with five saves and Byrns had four saves for the game. San Diego State outshot Cal, 18-11, through 99:16 of action.

Cal, which played at UCLA on Oct. 16, plays the same two Pac-10 opponents in its next two games, hosting UCLA at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, and San Diego State at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Edwards Stadium. The second
game will feature Senior Day festivities in which Cal honors its seniors, who will be playing in the final regular-season games of their careers, before the match.