Toreros bested by Highlanders

Early red card dooms USD men’s soccer to a 2-0 defeat to UC Riverside

Alyssa Sanchez/Contributor/The USD Vista

The University of San Diego men’s soccer team lost 2-0  to the University of California,  Riverside Highlanders last Friday.

The game immediately proved to be dramatic when USD player Chris Tobler was given a red card and ejected from the game in the 18th minute after colliding hard with a UC Riverside player. This took a toll on the Toreros as it brought them down to 10 players. This changed the team’s dynamic which upset head coach Brian Quinn.

“The early red card changed the momentum of the game,” Quinn said. “It was inexcusable to get a red that early in the game. He should have known better.”

This loss of Tobler caused the Toreros to work harder as the defense could no longer remain compact. Midfielder Jimmy Ryan played the entire 90 minutes and explained that he had to exert himself more than usual due to the shortage in players. 

“Since we only had 10 players, we were constantly backtracking. It was definitely a tougher game,” Ryan said. 

UC Riverside forward player Daniel Castaneda scored the first goal 20 minutes into the game. This was the second blow to the Toreros in the first half. In an attempt to answer back to the Highlanders, USD forward player Reuben Dass nearly scored as he quickly approached the goal. The shot was blocked which sent the players back to midfield to battle for the recovery of the ball. 

The Highlanders played very aggressively as their forward players took multiple shots at the Torero goal. USD goalkeeper Matt Wiher made several impressive blocks throughout the game to keep the Highlanders at bay. 

The Toreros tried desperately to even the score before the first half ended. Forward player Miguel Berry often evaded the Highlanders’ defense and brought the ball near the goal multiple times. He was subbed out near the end of the half but was back in the game at the beginning of the second half. 

The score was 0-1 in favor of the Highlanders at halftime.

“We organized at halftime to be sure that we would defend well in the second half,” Quinn said. “We hoped to have the opportunity to tie the game and possibly go into overtime.”

Wiher made a save immediately after the second half commenced. USD kept a tight defense in order to prevent another goal by UC Riverside. It was clear that the Toreros played even harder during the second half both offensively and defensively. Multiple shots from USD forward players nearly entered the goal but the Highlanders’ goalkeeper was always in position to block the ball. 

   At 70 minutes, nearly all of the Toreros were on the Highlanders’ side of the field in order to redirect a corner kick from their teammate into the goal. It was unsuccessful and the UC Riverside goalkeeper quickly got the ball to one of his forward players, Daniel Aguirre, who had already gotten down the field. Without sufficient defense to stop him, Aguirre kicked the ball and scored the second goal of the game. The score was then 0-2 and little time remained. 

“Once it got to 0-2 there were only 20 minutes left. It was too much for us,” Quinn said.

USD’s defense tried to stay vigilant after the second goal in order to prevent any more scoring from the Highlanders. There was not enough time to give the Toreros a chance to recover and the game ended with UC Riverside victorious.

Although the Toreros lost, Quinn explained that he was still proud of his team and especially impressed by the tenacity of his midfielders Paul Ramlow and Ross Meldrum. He added that the team is ready to get back to practice to prepare for conference.

 “I think we’ll lick our wounds a little bit and then look forward to entering into conference,” Quinn said. “It’s kind of like a new season. There’s seven games and everyone starts even.”

The Toreros will travel to San Francisco, Gonzaga, and Portland for three WCC games next week. They return home  on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. for a game against SDSU.