REDDING, Calif. - The men's soccer team dropped its season finale to UC Merced 3-1 on its Senior Day.
The Red Hawks celebrated six seniors;
Mohammad Salaymeh,
Alvaro Zarpellon,
Jesus Rodriguez, Jaime Guttierez Velasco,
Adrian Madrigal, and
Franklin Benitez.
Before, the day started Simpson was in a win-and-in playoff scenario.
However, the Bobcats spoiled Simpson's senior day and put its season in the hands of Soka University who needed to defeat St. Katherine University to punch Simpson's playoff ticket.
Simpson drew first blood in the 18th minute as Jaime Velasco found the back of the net off a pass by
Cristhian Guevara.
The Bobcats would find the back of the net in the 39th minute to even the score headed into the half.
But it was all Bobcats in the second half as they scored back-to-back goals in the 68th and 75th minute of play to take the 3-1 advantage.
Goalkeeper
Daniel Morales did his best to keep the opposing Bobcat attackers at bay as he recorded a season-high 10 saves.
With the loss, Simpson had to scoreboard-watch the Soka and St. Katherine game to see whose season would continue.
Simpson's playoff ticket was punched when Soka defeated St. Katherine 2-0 to eliminate the Firebirds from playoff contention.
A look ahead
Simpson will be headed to the Cal Pac tournament as the sixth seed as they look to take on #3 seed Embry-Riddle.
These two teams met a month ago in Prescott, Arizona when the Eagles defeated the Red Hawks 2-1 in a chippy contest.
The game included six cards between the two teams.
Simpson's lone goal came from its leading scorer
Michel Hampe.
The Red Hawks will look to contain Alex Frances and Lucas Garcia who have a combined 21 goals on the year.
The game is set for next week Saturday, November 4th at 1 PM in Prescott, Arizona.
