BOX SCORE
BOX SCORE
ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's soccer team continues to make strides, even in defeat, dropping a tough 2–1 decision at perennial power Sonoma State Sunday afternoon in Rohnert Park.
Sonoma (5–1–0, 4–0–0 CCAA) got a pair of goals from Tyler Varnadore en route to the win. Monterey Bay (1–3–1, 1–2–1) got a late goal from
Alex Shuler (West Hills/Oak Park HS) to make things interesting.
“The boys played very well. I think this is the best game we've played all season, especially from an offensive standpoint,” said CSUMB Head Coach
Rob Cummings. “This (Sonoma) is a team that not only has scored a lot of goal but has shut a lot of people out. We don't play for moral victories, but I think our effort today shows a level of growth. To finish off a road trip that took us from one end of the state to the other and to compete this well against a team of this caliber says some very positive things about the direction of our program.”
Coming off a 9–0 romp over Cal State East Bay on Friday—and having posted shutouts in four of its first five matches this season—Sonoma State figured to provide the young Otter squad its biggest challenge yet. When the Seawolves scored barely six minutes in Sunday, it looked like it could a long afternoon for the Otters.
“Their goals were good goals scored by a player who was just bigger than anybody we had—nothing we could do about it. But after that we went at them,” said Cummings. “We respected them but we didn't over respect them, and that allowed us to get back in the game.”
In fact, the only thing the Otters didn't have an answer for was Varnadore's size as a the 6–3 striker headed home both goals over the smaller Otter backline. After Varnadore's early strike and subsequent flurry gave Sonoma a 5–1 lead in shots, the offenses played to a dead heat, with each posting seven shots, three on frame and one goal.
Once Varnadore scored his second goal, CSUMB increased its pressure. The breakthrough came in the 87th minute when
Pana Vasquez (Houston/SMU) began a nice build up with a pass to
Beau Villanueva (Turlock/Pitman HS) on the wing. Villanueva fed a pass between two Seawolf defenders.
The pass found Shuler at the end of a long run down the middle of the park, and the sophomore defender's sure one–time finish lifted the Otters back into the game.
CSUMB returns to the friendly confines of the Otter Sports Complex to host a pair of CCAA matches next weekend. They'll kick things off Friday with a 12:30 p.m. match against Chico State.
Sonoma State 2, Cal State Monterey Bay 1
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
CSU Monterey Bay.... 0 1 - 1
Sonoma State........ 1 1 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 6:05 SSU Tyler Varnadore (5) (Ebby Lombardi, Trevor Hurst)
2. 73:29 SSU Tyler Varnadore (6) (Trevor Hurst)
3. 86:11 CSUMB Alex Shuler (1) (Beau Villanueva)
Shots: CSU Monterey Bay 8, Sonoma State 12
Saves: CSU Monterey Bay 2 (Sam Campanelli 2), Sonoma State 2 (Andrew Ball 2)
