University of Redlands junior midfielder Matej Kustura (Las Vegas, NV) scored Saturday night's only goal to lift the Bulldog men's soccer team to a vital 1-0 triumph over the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen. In front of nearly 500 fans at Farquhar Field, the Maroon and Gray played stifling defense and found the all-important finishing touch en route to remaining in first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings.
Redlands racked up six corner kicks inside the first 18 minutes of the match, but could not put one in the back of the net, keeping the score level at 0-0.
After controlling the majority of the first half, the Bulldogs could still not find a goal to go in front. The Kingsmen responded well, and in the latter stages of the first 45 minutes, pushed forward in search of a goal of their own. They came close on a couple of opportunities, but U of R freshman goalkeeper Dylan Ochoa (Culver City, CA) came up with some diving saves and key touches to keep Cal Lutheran off of the scoreboard.
At the half with the game still scoreless, Cal Lutheran had edged Redlands in shots, 12-11, while the Bulldogs maintained a large advantage in the corner-kick department, 7-1.
At the start of the second stanza, Redlands played with a sense of urgency and began to press the issue offensively. After a couple of close chances for the Bulldogs that just went over the crossbar and a shot that hit the right post, the breakthrough finally came.
In the 61st minute, Kustura collected a pass on the right side, took a few touches and then beat a Kingsmen defender off the dribble. With enough space to shoot, Kustura calmly slotted a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner of the goal to give the Bulldogs the one-goal advantage. For Kustura, it was his second goal on the campaign.
Watch Kustura's game-winner here.
Freshman forward Matt Speegle (Castro Valley, CA) came off the bench not long after and almost doubled Redlands' lead when he banged a shot off the left post. Junior forward Charles Izydorek (Redlands, CA) also had a couple of close opportunities that were saved late in the game, keeping the U of R lead at just one goal.
The entire Bulldog defensive backline and Ochoa did the rest, shutting down any Cal Lutheran (8-3-2, 6-2-2 SCIAC) attacks while finishing the game out and earning the shutout. Ochoa, in his first ever start, racked up eight saves while keeping the Kingsmen off the scoreboard.
After the match, Ochoa talked about what it was like to make his first-ever collegiate start and put on the Bulldog uniform.
On the night, the Maroon and Gray outshot the Kingsmen, 24-19, and edged Cal Lutheran in corner kicks, 12-2. Kustura led the way for Redlands with eight shots, while Izydorek provided five and freshman midfielder Austin Moore (Las Vegas, NV) registered three.
Redlands (8-2-0, 8-2-0 SCIAC) returns to the field on Wednesday when it takes on the University of La Verne (7-5-0, 5-5-0 SCIAC). Kickoff in La Verne is set for 7 p.m.
