The SF State men's soccer team battled with the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters, resulting in a 1-1 double overtime draw.

The scoring began after the first half in which both teams played strong defense and allowed no goals. Casey Poston opened up the second half by connecting on a header from freshman forward Wes Whitt giving the SF State Gators a 1-0 lead.

“Their center back got the ball and tried to clear it out, resulting in a little misread of our defense,” Poston said.

He scored the only Gator goal of the game, and his second goal of the season.

“I was able to step in front into the passing lanes and was able to steal the ball and play it out wide to Wes, who hit a good cross,” Poston said. “It fell right to me and I was able to hit it in to the near post corner.”

The game against the Otters on Sept. 20 was SF State's fourth game in six days. The Gators are looking to stay fresh with two more road games this weekend.

“We’ve just got to grind, we’ve got to find a way to pull it out,” Coach Joe Hunter said of his recent patch of busy scheduling. “We knew this team was going to be tough. They haven’t won a match yet, but we knew they’re always physically going to be there, and they are going to battle.”

The Gators played the game without their starting goalkeeper Jaxon Roberts, who will not accompany the team on the road trip because of an injury. Poston will not travel with the team this weekend either, after injuring his groin in the second half, shortly after his goal.

Blocking the net for the Gators in place of Roberts was Ezra Mendoza, who had six saves. He remained strong as goalkeeper, enduring both the first and second half and two overtime periods.

Of the 21 shots on goal by the Otters, only seven shots made it to Mendoza.

“Our defense was really strong, they did a really good job,” Mendoza said. “They make my job a lot easier.”

The last time the Gators played Cal State Monterey Bay was Sept. 2 in Seaside, where the Gators won 2-0. The Gators now hold a lifetime record of three wins, two losses and one draw against the Otters.

The Otters’ only goal of the day came after the break in action due to Casey Poston’s injury late in the second half.

“We’ve been working all year on just getting a little bit tighter and a little more diligent. That’s our word of the year, diligence,” Coach Hunter said. “Most of what we are working on is just not giving up these soft goals. They happen, but if we can prevent those, we are going to give ourselves a fighting chance.”