The Jacks faced one of their toughest opponents of the young season at College Creek Field on Sunday, tying San Francisco State 1-1 in men’s soccer.

The Gators came into the game with a 4-0-1 mark and fresh off a 2-0 road win at a tough Sonoma State, but were unable to find the same success against HSU.

“Today was a difficult game against a very good San Francisco State team,” said HSU head coach Fred Jungemann, whose team is now 0-0-2 in conference and 3-1-2 overall. “We got an early goal, but they responded well and deservedly tied the game before halftime.”

The Jacks brought pressure from the start, and it paid off when Gus Baxter netted on the team’s only shot attempt in the first half. 

A through ball from Frankie Calderon landed in front of Baxter at center in the box and a rocket shot tipped off goalkeeper Peter Swinkels’ fingertips and hit the corner net. Baxter led his team with four total shots. 

Humboldt State plays at Cal State LA on Friday and at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday.

HSU women drop home opener

The Humboldt State women’s soccer team dropped its home opener 1-0 against San Francisco State on Sunday. 

The Gators scored in the second minute and that was all they needed. 

“We started poorly again today and struggled to get control of the game until half,” HSU head coach Paul Karver said. “At the half, we moved some players around and made a few adjustments that allowed us to come out stronger. We had our chances to score but didn’t finish them, and in this conference that will send you home pretty quickly.”

The Jacks play at Cal State LA on Friday.

HSU volleyball falls in straight sets

The Humboldt State volleyball team lost its fourth straight match on Saturday night, falling to Cal Poly Pomona 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) in Kellogg Arena.

“We showed improvement tonight after a tough loss last night,” said HSU head coach Kelly Wood, whose team also fell in straight sets to Cal State San Bernardino on Friday.

The Lumberjacks (3-9, 0-4 in conference) faced two of the conference’s elite squads on back-to-back nights.

With Saturday’s win, Cal Poly Pomona improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 conference.

HSU returns home to face Sonoma State in Lumberjack Arena on Friday night at 5 p.m.

Lumberjacks pitch in with coastal cleanup

The beauty of Humboldt County’s bay and waterways makes the North Coast a special place, and Humboldt State student athletes pitched in to preserve these natural landmarks on Saturday morning.

The Lumberjacks, led by the HSU crew team, cleaned from Samoa Bridge to Caito Fisheries, removing trash and recording the amount of waste recovered.

“This event was awesome,” said event organizer and HSU assistant crew coach Ashley Donnell. “We filled the crew truck with trash to the brim! About 65 volunteers from the women’s rowing team, graduates and friends of the rowing team, men’s soccer and a few people from the HBRA (Humboldt Bay Rowing Association) pitched in.”

The HSU men’s soccer team supported the event and one of their 2018 team captains, Daniel Allred, remarked on the importance of the cleanup effort.

“We are super lucky to live in such a beautiful place, and it is important to help keep it that way,” said Allred. “It was awesome to be working with the rowing team and big props to them for organizing the event.”

Trash recovered from the event was logged, and the data will support the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) effort. 

The ICC has engaged 13 million people since its inception, removing 250 million pounds of trash from the world’s beaches and waterways.