NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Sacramento State answered a pair of CSUN first-half goals with two of its own in the second half, including the game-tying score playing a man down with four minutes remaining in regulation, to forge a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night at Matador Soccer Field in Northridge, Calif.
The Hornets picked up their first point in conference play with the draw, rallying back from a 2-0 halftime deficit on goals by sophomore Eli Reyneveld in the 66th minute and Nick Strangio's game-tying score with 3:29 left in the match.
Hiroshi Yang tallied the assist on Reyneveld's first goal in the green and gold while Angad Singh and Jonathan Dadzie teamed up for the helpers on Strangio's second score of the season.
The Matadors, who entered the night with a Big West Conference-best six wins on the season and off to their best start since 2012, looked to run away with the match early, scoring the first goal of the night just six minutes in on a penalty and adding a second score in the 41st minute to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the break.
Sacramento State had the answer in the second half as the tandem of Yang and Reyneveld halved the CSUN advantage midway through the period. Yang started the sequence with a run down the left and curved a cross across the top of the 18 that eluded a Matador defender and fell to the feet of a charging Reyneveld.
The Modesto, Calif., native timed his run perfectly, one-timing a left-footed shot that snuck through traffic and fooled the CSUN goalkeeper, sneaking just inside the right post to make it 2-1. Reyneveld's score made him the eighth different Hornet to score this season.
Now chasing the tying score, Sacramento State was dealt a blow in the 85th minute when the Hornets had a player sent off, putting them at 10 men for the final five-plus minutes.
That did not deter the visiting side as Strangio came through in the clutch. Dadzie started the sequence by chipping a ball to the left post where it was headed back by Singh to the middle of the box. That's where Strangio was perched, finding room between a pair of CSUN defenders to head home the tying score and setting off a Hornet celebration in the corner.
Each team had one more attempt in the final two minutes, but neither was able to find the back of the net before the final whistle.
Goalkeeper
Andres Rosales entered in the second half and pitched a shutout over the final 45 minutes, facing 15 total shots and making six saves — just one shy of his Sacramento State career high. Offensively, Yang and
Donovan Sessoms finished with a team-high three shots apiece, while Reyneveld and
Sean Battistessa added two apiece.
Sacramento State closes out its Southern California road trip on Saturday (Oct. 11), traveling to UC Riverside for a 7 p.m. kick-off. The Highlanders battled UC San Diego to a 2-2 draw as well on Wednesday.
