The men’s soccer team dropped their second consecutive game Thursday afternoon, falling 3-1 to UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium.
The Anteaters took a 1-0 advantage only 98 seconds into the game when sophomore forward Jose Ortiz evaded Cal Poly defenders and laid the ball off to junior midfielder Ivan Canales, who slotted the ball into the net.
Canales scored again in the 12th minute, doubling the Anteaters lead. The goal was set up by a cross from the goal line by freshman midfielder Erick Gallinar onto the foot of senior midfielder Giovanni Godoy.
Godoy laid it off for Canales, who again found the back of the net.
The Mustangs cut the lead in half in the 39th minute of the game with a goal of their own by junior forward Jared Pressley. The goal was Pressley’s first of the season, making him the eighth Mustang to score a goal this season.
This was as close as the Mustangs would get to getting the lead back from the Anteaters, as they would extend their lead to two goals in the 62nd minute of the match when Godoy placed the ball into the left-hand corner of the goal.
The Mustangs had a couple of good opportunities late to cut the deficit. Senior forward Tyler Savitsky stuck a shot off the post in the 67th minute.
Just five minutes later the Anteater goalkeeper, redshirt sophomore Alex Waldron, made a great save on an effort by sophomore midfielder Christian Enriquez.
The 3-1 victory for the Anteaters’ was their first win this season in Big West Conference play. Cal Poly took more shots than UC Irvine, but the Anteaters took advantage of their opportunities scoring three goals despite having only five shots on target.