Senior forward Makesi Lewis had six of Oakland’s 15 shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Oakland men’s soccer team was turned back by No. 14 UC Irvine, 2-0 in the opening match of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament on Friday at the San Diego State Sports Deck.
The loss drops the Golden Grizzlies to 1-2 this season, while the Anteaters are unbeaten at 4-0.
UC Irvine netted twice off of corner kicks, which was the difference in the game. The Anteaters’ Corey Attaway scored the first goal in the 44th minute on a header from Brett Berman’s corner kick. It was the third consecutive match-winning goal for the UC Irvine captain and current Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week.
Berman picked up another assist on a corner kick in the 71st minute. He played in a driven cross to Christian Hernandez, who flicked the ball on with his head to Amani Walker, who chipped the ball over Oakland goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt to double Irvine’s lead.
Oakland was strong for most of the game, but simply couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net. Sophomore Tom Catalano nearly had a goal in the second minute when he worked himself free for a long distance shot, but his effort went right to the Irvine goalkeeper.
The Golden Grizzlies also threatened at the start of the second half, when junior Konner McNamara played a free kick to Lewis who was just 10 yards from goal, but was denied by a good save from the Anteaters’ goalkeeper Andrew Fontein. Lewis had another good opportunity in the 69th minute, but was once again foiled by a good save from Fontein.
Irvine outshot Oakland 18-15 but both teams finished with eight shots on goal. The key stat was a 3-0 edge in corner kicks for the Anteaters, which led to both goals. Hildebrandt had six saves for OU, while Fontein made eight stops to record a fourth consecutive shutout for the Anteaters, which have not allowed a goal this season.
Oakland faces tournament host San Diego State in its next match on Sunday at 7 p.m. (EST).