SF State men’s soccer team dropped their fifth straight game Friday to No. 8 ranked Cal Poly Pomona 1-0 in double overtime off a goal from Alexander Turkson in minute 104.
The goal was a lapse from the defense that was playing well all game, but the Gators’ centerback attacked the ball instead of standing to guard the goal, giving Turkson a free shot to seal the match.
SF State missed a lot of opportunities to score, but none were more noticeable than the three missed opportunities by Nick Harb.
In minute 19, Harb had his shot blocked at the goal, which ricocheted back to him only for it to sail high on the second attempt.
In second overtime, it looked as if Harb would win the game in dramatic fashion, but he missed wide-right, marking his third miss of the game. Missing opportunities to score has been a familiar story that plagues the team each week.
“I feel like a broken record but we’ve been playing this well every game,” head coach Matt Barnes said. “You can see we just don’t have enough up front and we aren’t finishing are opportunities.”
After the match Barnes was visibly upset with how the game ended and that it was tough to lose such a hard-fought game against one of the best teams in the nation.
“I haven’t said anything,” Barnes said. “What do you say after a game? We played hard we stuck to the game plan and we made one little mistake. Guys at this level they don’t need me to tell them they did bad.”
The players were also upset after the game, and did not make themselves available for comment.
“It hurts. They want to win everyday,” Barnes said. “They want to win as much as I do. Not much to say after this we gotta go get ready. We have a very good UC San Diego team coming here.”
The Gators returned home after four straight games on the road and felt pumped to be back to play for their home crowd — where they haven’t lost yet.
“We’ve been waiting to get back at home,” Barnes said. “We play really well at home. We had a great crowd today. The boys were real excited for the game.”