JANE LEE
Sports assistant
The Pepperdine men’s club soccer team lost a 2-0 lead in the second half as they were defeated 3-2 by San Diego State University in their first match of the season Saturday afternoon.
The match proved to be extremely physical with more than five players with yellow cards, two fights on the field, two Pepperdine fans being tossed out and a serious injury to a Pepperdine player.
Freshman left midfielder Keith Bergh said much fault should be on the referees for such incidents.
“The referees let the game get out of control from the beginning, not making correct calls, making incorrect calls on fouls that didn’t occur and didn’t monitor the field well at all,” Bergh said. “It was a physical game that got even more physical due to the poor refereeing.”
The Waves (0-1-0) got on the board quickly in the first half when SDSU’s goalkeeper misplayed a kick back from his own defender and allowed the ball to creep into the net to give Pepperdine a 1-0 lead.
Just a few minutes later junior, right midfielder Jared Martinez was awarded and scored on a penalty kick after dribbling through traffic on the right side of the field before being taken out by an Aztec defender in the upper corner of the penalty box.
Pepperdine’s 2-0 lead narrowed to one in the beginning of the second half when Aztec forward David Leonard shot an unassisted goal into the net to make it a 2-1 game.
In the middle of the second half, Waves sophomore right defender J.D. Dilbourne had to be airlifted to UCLA Medical Center after going up for a head ball and being hit hard in the back of his head by an Aztec player’s elbow, causing him to land on his head. Dilbourne is back on campus and in good condition, according to an anonymous team source.
Meanwhile, as Pepperdine’s offense continued to lose control of the ball, Aztec forward Mark Thayer tied the game at two when he found a way into the net after several prior attempts.
Five minutes later, Leonard scored his second goal of the game to give SDSU (3-0-1) its first lead of the game and, ultimately, a 3-2 victory.
“We really should have won, but a 2-0 lead is the hardest thing in soccer to hold,” Longo said. “I think we made a statement to the league, though, just putting up a score like that against a top team. We won’t play anyone near as good the rest of the way.”
Bergh said he knows his team can play better, however.
“We have the potential to be a really good team, but this past game, we had a tough time controlling the ball, making smart decisions and had little to no offense,” he said.
The Waves are next scheduled to play Saturday at the University of San Diego.
09-22-2005