Northridge Takes a Shot to the Middle

NORTHRIDGE — When a team hopes to make a name for itself in NCAA Division I men’s soccer, losing to a Division II opponent is not advised.

But that was the result Friday night for Cal State Northridge, which fell to Grand Canyon, 2-1, before 630 fans in its opener at North Campus Stadium.

Manoel Coelho lifted the Antelopes, defending Division II national champions, to victory by scoring with under two minutes left in the match.

Grand Canyon’s Adam Martinez began the play with a 25-yard free kick into the Northridge goalmouth, where Coelho trapped the ball with his chest before spinning and scoring from 10 yards as the Matador defense stood flat-footed.

It was the Antelopes’ only shot on goal in the second half.

“We didn’t pressure him; we just gave him too much time,” Northridge defender Danny Nishiyama said. “You can put the blame for [the loss] on the defense.”

Crucial to the outcome was the ejection of Matador Ante Bilaver when he received his second yellow card in the 75th minute.

Northridge played the final 15 minutes a man short.

“The [ejection] hurt us and the two goals were mistakes,” Northridge Coach Marwan Ass’ad said, kicking the turf in disgust. “We let them dance around [the penalty area] with no one in their face.”

Aside from several costly lapses, the Matadors’ back line was a pleasant surprise. Last season, the position was an Achilles’ heel for the team, which finished 4-10-2, the worst record in the program’s 19-year history.

The new unit of outside fullbacks Mark Fitzpatrick and John Relles, and central defenders Nishiyama and Bilaver looked to be a vast improvement.

Fitzpatrick, a former Alemany High standout and a sophomore transfer from the Naval Academy, was particularly impressive, moving the ball up the field and helping Northridge make a speedy transition from defense to offense.

But once the Matadors neared the Grand Canyon penalty area, they seemed to travel back in time. In 1996, opponents outshot Northridge by only a slim margin, but scored almost twice as many goals.

This was more of the same, as the Matadors held a 14-5 edge in shots.

“We played a lot better than last year and we had a lot better [passing] but we still didn’t put our chances away,” Northridge forward Michael Preis said.

Preis, a sophomore who led the Matadors with seven goals last season, scored in the 51st minute to give Northridge a 1-1 tie. Luis Castro passed to Daryl Mundy, whose one-touch pass was buried by Preis from the right post.

Milos Tomic scored on a pass from Coelho in the 11th minute. Grand Canyon goalkeeper Freddy Haase made three saves, all in the first half, and Northridge’s Jorge Buery stopped two shots.