Defense was the theme of the game, as the SF State Men’s Soccer team battled the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors to a scoreless double-overtime draw.

The Gators looked to carry their momentum home after a road trip capped by a victory at Seattle’s Championship Field on Oct. 11. The Gators defeated the Seattle University Redhawks, 1-0, who are currently ranked No. 15 in the nation.

Much like the win over the Redhawks, team defense was the key to the game against the Warriors Oct. 13. Goalkeeper Ezra Mendoza, junior, held the Warriors’ attack at bay with his second eight-save shutout in a row.

“Ezra’s been the rock, he looks like him too," said defenseman Kyle Loftis, senior. "He’s been a wall back there, he’s knocked everything out.”

In the first half, the Gators’ team defense kept the Warriors’ attack so silent that Mendoza didn’t even have to make a save.

“They just make it so easy for me," Mendoza said. "Usually when I get something it's not too bad because I have a solid defense in front of me that takes care of me and makes sure there is nothing really hard for me to do.”

Mendoza is currently on a two-game shutout streak. His eight saves on goal all came in the second half and in the overtime periods.

With 13 minutes left in the second half, SF State’s midfielder Matt Weddick, senior, collided in the air with forward Frank Coehlo of the Warriors, and was given a red card. As a result, Weddick was ejected from the game, leaving the Gators short-handed and in disagreement with the referee’s call.

“It was so strange because his intent was not to do anything egregious to the player,” Gators’ coach Joe Hunter said. “The player jumped and Matt was basically protecting himself.”

Playing with one less man on the field than their opposition for the remainder of the game, the Gators’ had to pick and choose their moments to attack carefully. This also gave the Warriors an opportunity to be more aggressive on offense, resulting in 13 shots on goal, six of which resulted in saves for Mendoza.

Mendoza recorded his final two saves of the game in the second overtime and even made a full extension sideways dive to block a shot on goal with zero seconds on the clock as the game ended.

“The guys are disappointed in the respect that we didn’t win today, we had just beaten two very good teams," Hunter said. “But when you lose a player of that stature it makes it difficult. We persevered today.”