CALIFORNIA, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team suffered a 2-0 loss in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition Wednesday at California University (Pa.).
With the loss SRU falls to 5-8-2 overall and 2-5-0 in the PSAC West while Cal U improves to 3-8-2 overall in 2021 and 2-4-1 in the division.
The California offensive output was brought on by the duo of Kobe Norfleet and Negus Johnson with one goal each in the second half.
The Rock's was led offensively by
Arturo Pla Hernandis with three total shots, two being on target, as well as
Joey Moeller with one shot on goal. Rock goalkeeper
Derek Hoffman finished the night with one save over the 90 minutes.
The Rock and Vulcans started the match in a defensive battle with Cal accounting for the only shot on goal though the first 45 minutes as the two teams headed into the break in a scoreless tie.
Coming out of halftime, the Vulcans began their scoring efforts when Evan Blunkosky passed a ball into the box that Norfleet sent to the top right out of the reach of Hoffman, giving Cal the 1-0 lead.
Pla Hernandis recorded two shot attempts in the 77th minute following Norfleet's goal, but he was unable to find the game-tying score as his header went high and another attempt was saved.
The Vulcans added an insurance goal in the 84th minute when Jake Nebinski sent a corner kick into the box which found the head of Johnson to tack on what would be the final goal of the match.
The Rock's best look at a score came with six minutes left to play when Pla Hernandis had a break away and landed a ball past Cal goalkeeper Trevor Zabilowicz, but the score would be nullified by an offsides call as the Vulcans held on for the shutout win.
California held advantages over Slippery Rock in total shots (8-4) and corner kicks (6-3) while both teams came up even in shots on goal with three apiece.
SRU returns home for is Senior Day game against Mercyhurst University 1 p.m. Saturday at James Egli Field.
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