Villegas back in lineup to help Cal State Stanislaus defeat Academy of Art

For two weeks, Manny Villegas sat on the sidelines, hobbled by a bum left knee.

The junior was unable to practice, much less play in the Stanislaus State men’s soccer team’s preseason games as he let his body mend.

The time off didn’t leave Villegas much hope that he’d crack head coach Dana Taylor’s starting 11 for Thursday’s season opener against the Academy of Art.

Villegas – a slick, hard-working right midfielder out of Atwater High – did much more than start. He helped set the pace for the Warriors in a 3-2 victory with a near-post blast in the 22nd minute.

Villegas pounced on a loose ball at the back post and then was swallowed by teammates in the corner. His strike was one of three by homegrown players, helping Stanislaus State clinch its first victory over the Urban Knights.

The Warriors also got goals from Danny Valenzuela of Turlock High and Ryan Chaney, a true freshman from Kimball High in Tracy.

“I’ve been out on a knee injury for the last two weeks. I’ve been watching these guys practice and play all the preseason games. I was like, ‘Damn, I wish that was me,’ ” Villegas said. “To get the first one of the season, there’s no better feeling. I just want to thank my teammates for trusting me and my coaches for putting me in the starting lineup.”

Stanislaus State looked impressive in its season opener, even as players shuffled on and off the pitch.

Taylor subbed liberally, experimenting with combinations while trying to give key starters (namely captains Christian Madrigal and Brady Taylor) rest, but the pace and purpose never wavered.

The Warriors harassed the Urban Knights’ back line with forwards Daniel Kuczynski, Valenzuela and Chaney, an intriguing blend of speed, size and strength on the ball.

Stanislaus State outshot the Urban Knights 8-0 in the first half and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Kuczynski and midfielder Ramiro Ceja were credited with assists on Villegas’ goal, while Luis Hernandez set up Chaney with a length-of-field through ball in the 51st minute.

Valenzuela scored in the 43rd minute on an outlet from goalie Russ Klabough (one save).

Taylor praised his team for staying in attack mode, even as the personnel changed.

“Over the last couple of years, what’s been a deficiency in our program is that we just haven’t gotten into the opponent’s half and pressed and take advantage of them,” Taylor said. “The whole preseason we’ve been working on getting the ball into positions where we can get good looks on goal.”

The Urban Knights kept the game close with two second-half penalty kicks.

Kristof Urbanyi capitalized in the 49th and 68th minutes to give the Academy of Art hope. The Urban Knights had won both meetings with Stanislaus State coming into Thursday’s match, but were overmatched in their first trip to Turlock.

“I thought the guys did a good job of bringing the intensity and setting the tone early, which is something we’ve been working on,” Taylor said. “This team got us last year 2-1, and that’s a really good team over there. So this was a good first step.”

The Warriors travel to Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Villegas back in lineup to help Cal State Stanislaus defeat Academy of Art."