University of Washington
San Diego State
Roldan's Late Header Wins It For Washington
October 27, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Final Stats
SEATTLE – No. 4 Washington bounced back to defeat San Diego State, 1-0, on a late Cristian Roldan header. The Dawgs (11-3-1, 4-2-1 Pac-12) got back on track with a big conference win over the Aztecs (7-9-0, 1-6-0 Pac-12).
The Dawgs earned their first shutout of the conference season and only the third of the season, dominating the Aztecs for the full 90 minutes, but waiting to get on the scoreboard until the 85th minute.
“We wanted to win a 1-0 game,” said head coach Jamie Clark. “2-0, 3-0 sounds great, but we wanted to have a tight 1-0 win and we got it. Those guys (the defense) were the best they have been. Spencer took a bigger load in organizing and it really showed. Yesterday, something snapped and he just started barking the whole time. I think he realizes that he needs to be that leader.”
Defensively, the Huskies were great all game. Center backs Michael Gallagher and Justin Schmidt commanded the game from the middle as the Aztecs had very few chances, while the Dawgs built out of the back. Still, despite good looks Washington was unable to finish.
The Huskies had an 8-1 advantage in shots in the first half, but nothing to show for it. Josh Heard earned the start at striker and was dangerous, but did not convert either of his shots on goal.
The game remained scoreless deep into the second half as the Huskies had some near misses. James Moberg nearly scored when he shot off the post and then again after the rebound bounced right back to him, but his attempt went wide.
The goal finally came in the 85th minute on the eighth and final corner kick of the day for the Huskies. Justin Schmidt sent in a bending cross that Roldan was able to head back across the goal. It was the third consecutive game the Dawgs have scored on a Schmidt corner as the redshirt sophomore now has six assists on the year to tie Moberg for the team lead.
Roldan picked up his third goal of the season as he was dangerous in the attack all game. Playing without Darwin Jones, the Dawgs relied more on Roldan as an offensive threat as the sophomore midfielder took six shots, including three on goal. It was his final shot that did the trick as he held off a San Diego State defender to win the deciding header.
“You work all game and press,” said Clark. “The result of that pressure is set pieces, but it comes from good play. We put together some good play to earn more set pieces and from those set pieces you put the odds in our favor. I though the service was good all day, so it was just a matter of time.”
The Husky defense did the rest as Spencer Richey earned his third shutout of the season in goal. Richey made just two saves as he wasn't tested often. The team captain was a commanding force from the back, organinzing his teammates and often acting as an extra field player to distribute to the offense. The shutout was the the 29th of Richey's career as he is just two shy of the Washington career record of Mark Schuur set back in 1982.
The Dawgs will now have a week off, which comes at a good time for Washington who was missing both Jones and Andy Thoma who suffered knocks in Thursday's game against UCLA. The Dawgs will not play again until Friday, Nov. 7, when they travel to Stanford for a 5 p.m. game.
