Goalkeeper Israel Cisneros had an off-day. Yet, for the 5-foot-9 senior that’s a good sign.

“I didn’t have to do much today,” he said. “That’s the way I like it. The team did everything for me.”

“I picked up the scraps.”

After coming off a treacherous and scoreless road trip that saw its postseason hopes damaged, the SF State Gators men’s soccer team (8-8, 5-7-1 in CCAA) pitched a shutout of its own on Friday, Oct. 24th by handling division foe the Humboldt State Lumberjack (7-6-4) a 2-0 loss at Cox Stadium, snapping their two-game losing streak.

“It’s very rewarding when you deserve to win and when you put in the effort and the concentration to do it,” said coach Joe Hunter. “We were diligent on the ball, we didn’t make silly mistakes.

“I thought we were more relaxed than they were.”

Already up 1-0 at halftime, the Gators added a second goal in the 62nd minute when midfielder Spencer Schwandt headed one into the net for his fourth goal of the season. The play started when captain Dylan Glass intercepted the ball at midfield. Glass push the ball and found Charles Conway on the left wing of the box, who connected with a wide-open Schwandt.

With the victory, the Gators were able to avenged a September road loss to the Lumberjacks, who defeated them 2-1 in Arcata.

“They beat us at there place,” said Cisneros “I wouldn’t say they’re a lesser team than us, but we wanted it more since this was our last home stand.”

The Gators would not let their guard down as they out shot the Lumberjacks 18-7.

Much of the time, Cisneros was more like an outfielder than a goalkeeper, snagging flies from the Lumberjacks' deep shots. Seemingly, the Lumberjacks would not poise as a threat for the goalie

“We let them have there 30 foot shots,” said Cisneros, who had one save.

After receiving a pass from midfielder Mario Hernandez midway through the first half, Sergio Villalva put the Gators on the scoreboard in the 28th minute, when he hammered the ball pass the reach of Lumberjacks keeper Drew Ryan for his third goal of the season

“I was at the right place at the right time,” said Villalva

The Gators captured a victory without one of their best players. Junior Wes Whitt missed the game after receiving two yellows cards in the Chico State game. In place of Whitt in the backline was Jeffrey Wiant, who countered the Lumberjack’s long shots with stifiling defense

“They did a great job, but my only concern was the communication factor,” said Hunter.

“I was pleased. I thought missing Wes [Whitt] in the back was crucial, but we shut them down in the mid air,” said Dylan Glass. “The center midfielders Mario Hernandez and Jeff [Wiant] played great.”

With two games remaining on the schedule, the Gators will have the opportunity to finish with a winning mark. But the task won’t be easy as they face two formidable opponents in Sonoma State and Norte Dame de Namur

“We got our work cut out for us,“ said Hunter. “It’s going to be senior day, so there is going to be a lot of emotion.”

“We can get a 10 win season, which is not bad.”

“Sonoma is going to be tough,” said Glass. “Best team in the north right now. They’re our rival. Then we got Norte Dame, who beat Sonoma.”

“You got the best and you got a team that beat the best, so its going to be big games.”

The Gators will return to action on Sunday for its final home game of the season, when they play host to North division leaderl Sonoma State (13-2-2) at 2 pm. Seniors Jake Beverlin and Cisneros will be honored at the game.

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