NAMPA, Idaho – After holding off 10 shots on goal, Cal State Los Angeles finally found a crack in the Saints' defense and scored the game-winning goal in the 76th minute in a 1-0 neutral site match.
The Saints (0-2-0) wrapped the their trip to Nampa, Idaho with a heart breaking defeat to CSU Los Angeles (3-0-0). All game, the Saints' defense bent but did not break, making 11 saves and faced a total of 17 shots; however, a late goal proved to be the decider.
The first half proved to be a quiet one, with no goals being scored and only five shots recorded. CSU Los Angeles took four of those shots, two landing on goal; however,
Griffin Small was able to save both. The lone shot of the first half for the Saints came in the 34th minute by
Jose Marquez, that soared high of the net.
At the start of the second half, the Golden Eagles launched a barrage of shots at the Saints' defense, and like the first half, Small managed to save all five. CSU Los Angeles continued their attack well into the second half, and Small ran his season streak of saves to 13 before finally allowing a goal. In the 76th minute, the Golden Eagles scored an unassisted goal.
"We have so much respect for the way that we improved our performance from everyone in the back, all the way through the front," said head coach
Rob Walker. "
Griffin Small's second half goalkeeping, the play of our centerbacks, the play of our midfield, and the hard work of our front players, made this a very competitive game. Now, we need to make a carbon copy of this effort, work on improving the little things, and get ready for a great road trip to Southern California next week."
Small finished the match with 11 saves and collected 14 saves over three halves of action in the two matches in Nampa. He began the season with 13 consecutive saves. The Saints managed to take four shots during the match, but none landed on target.
SMU remains on the road, traveling to California for three matches, starting with CSU Dominguez Hills on September 6 at 7:00 p.m. Links to live stats will be available through smusaints.com.
