In what was an extremely spirited effort, the Cougar men came up just short of upsetting Cal State Los Angeles, losing 2-1 in overtime.

CSUSM is now 1-1 on the season.

Playing in front of a very loud and very vocal crowd of students, the Cougar men turned in one of their better performances in the last two seasons.

Opportunities were few and far between in the first half, and the game headed scoreless into halftime. But things opened up in the second, with CSULA getting on the board thanks to a Kyle Hewitt goal off a corner kick in the 56th minute.

Despite the deficit, the Cougars would not fold. They turned up the heat, generating a couple of opportunities that culminated in Troy Skomra finding Miguel Jacobo on a beautiful pass across the pitch. Jacobo proceeded to beat his defender 1-on-1, find open space, and hit a sharp-angled shot that ricocheted into the net.

Both teams missed on opportunities late, and the contest proceeded into overtime – CSUSM's second trip into extra time in as many games. But this time it was their opponent getting the golden goal, as the fatigued Cougar squad gave up a dangerous free kick, leading to Mickey Daly hitting in the winner.

Still, it was an encouraging performance for Coach Ron Pulvers' squad.

“We were fantastic. We had a game plan and stuck to it,” commented Pulvers. “We kept them from finding a rhythm.”

CSUSM will host Master's College on September 2nd.