At the University of San Diego, the Bakersfield Brigade defeated the San Diego Gauchos on the road today, and recorded a 3-1 victory to begin their 2006 season.

 

The Gauchos came out strong and quickly scored the first goal of the game in the 5th minute of play, on a Penalty Kick that was awarded to the Gauchos after Brigade player Andrew Kelley took out a Gaucho player inside the box. Jorge Macias stepped up for the Gauchos and blasted a shot past Brigade Keeper Vince Licciardi to give the Gauchos a 1-0 lead. “We knew they were going to come out strong early today after suffering a defeat against Fresno last weekend,” stated Brigade Head Coach Jay Gore. “However, we anticipated and kept our composure which allowed us to remain focused in the game,” added Gore.

 

The Brigade answered back in the 11th minute of play, with a goal of their own. Off a Corner Kick, Brigade Defender Kyle Gookins found himself above all others and headed the ball past the Gauchos Keeper and into the back of the net, to tie the game at one a piece. It didn’t take the Brigade long to score their second goal of the night. Brigade Forward John Curry, beat Gaucho Defender Alfredo Medina on his way to the goal which then forced Medina to take him out, inside of the box. The Brigade were then awarded a Penalty Kick for the penalty and Brigade Midfielder Matt O’Sullivan gently struck the ball down the center of the net, as the Gaucho keeper committed himself early, to one side.  The Brigade went into the half up 2-1.

 

The second half began with each team obviously tightening up on their defense. It wasn’t until the 86th minute of play that the next goal was scored. Brigade Midfielder Jonathan Solorzano found himself in the right position at the right time to clean up a shot that was struck by fellow Brigade player Brennan Tennelle which hit the crossbar, found Solorzano’s feet then found the back of the net to give the Brigade a final 3-1 lead and win.  “The win is huge for our club . . all first games are especially if it’s on the road,” stated Brigade General Manager Joe Jimenez. “We knew they were coming off a road loss and were looking for redemption at home, we were prepared and we executed that’s a formula for success,” added Jimenez.

 

The win takes the Brigade to 1-0 in league play as they head down to play the Southern California Seahorses on Saturday May 13th at La Mirada High School. The Seahorses are also 1-0, as they defeated the California Gold on Saturday May 6th, 4-0. With this loss, the San Diego Gauchos fall to 0-2 in season play.

 

The Brigade is a PDL soccer team, playing within the United Soccer Leagues’ PDL Southwestern Conference, which is made up of nine teams throughout California.