Sept. 6, 2014

Final Stats

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Three goals in the opening 25 minutes helped lead Cal Poly to a 4-1 victory over the NIU men’s soccer team on Friday night at Spanos Stadium. Senior Isaac Kannah (Plymouth, Minn./Prairie Seeds Academy) scored his first goal of the season, and the 11th of his NIU career, but the Huskies were unable to overcome the early deficit.

“Cal Poly is a good team,” said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. “They do some unique things with their shape, there are a lot of moving parts and they are good. But they didn’t do anything we didn’t think they were going to do, we prepared for it, but in a couple of crucial moments we didn’t make the play we needed to make.

“We had a couple of individual defensive breakdowns and we gave the ball away once or twice in bad areas and they punished us.”

Cal Poly (2-1-0) took the lead in the 10th minute through Justin Dhillon. Kip Colvey played a ball that split the Huskie defenders and found Dhillon in behind one-on-one with NIU goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser (Walla Walla, Wash./Oregon State). Dhillon slotted the ball just inside the far post to give the Mustangs the early advantage.

NIU (1-1-1) had an excellent chance to level the match in the 15th minute. Junior Charlie Oliver (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) did well to get past a defender down the wing and whipped in a cross toward Kannah near the top of the six-yard box. Kannah collected the ball and took a shot that Cal Poly goalkeeper Wade Hamilton was just able to get a fingertip to and divert wide.

Cal Poly doubled its advantage in the 25th minute. Colvey was again the provider as he sent in a cross from the right side that found Kaba Alkebulan alone in the box and his header beat an outstretched Glaeser to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.

Just 17 seconds later the Mustangs scored a third as Chase Minter found space on the left side and was able to find Steve Palacios near the penalty spot. Palacios had time and fired the ball into the net as Cal Poly pushed its lead to 3-0.

In the 31st minute, Glaeser made an outstanding save on a free kick by Minter from 25 yards out. Minter’s effort rose over the Huskie wall and dipped back down toward goal, forcing Glaeser into the save.

The junior goalkeeper from Walla Walla, Wash., made five saves in the contest.

NIU pulled a goal back before halftime as Kannah trimmed the Cal Poly lead to two. Kannah collected the ball, turned and found space for a shot from 25 yards out that beat Hamilton to cut the Cal Poly lead to 3-1 in the 41st minute.

After halftime, Kannah had another excellent opportunity in the 66th minute. The Huskie senior was dribbling to his right and shot back across his body to the left, just missing the post.

With just 33 seconds remaining, Cal Poly added a fourth goal as Joseph Bolous found the net from about 12 yards out.

NIU will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 7, as the Huskies conclude their California trip when they visit Santa Clara. Game time against the Broncos is slated for 2 p.m. CT (noon PT).