Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — If there is a positive the Dominican University of California men's soccer team can take out of Saturday's Pacific West Conference game at Kennelly Field in the John F. Allen Athletics Complex it is the knowledge that it can compete with the best teams in the conference.

Now it is just a matter of beating them.

After playing Grand Canyon University, the 13th-ranked team in the nation in NCAA Division II, even for 70 minutes last Saturday before surrendering a 2-0 loss, the Penguins stayed close with another elite PacWest team, California Baptist University. They outworked the Lancers the first 25 minutes of the second half, poised to score a game-tying, momentum-changing goal, when CBU tallied two quick goals to escape with a 3-0 victory.

“It was a closer game than 3-0,” said Director of Soccer Jonathan Delano. "They're good. Probably the most complete team that we've played this year.”

It was a great effort by the Penguins (7-7-0/3-7-0) to run with them before the biggest crowd of the season on “Kick Out Breast Cancer Day.” To help breast cancer research, Dominican players wore pink jerseys, which were signed after the game and auctioned off with proceeds going to the Marin General Hospital Foundation, earmarked for the hospital's breast health program.

The Penguins faced long odds against California Baptist (10-3-1/8-2-0). The veteran Lancers, with nine upperclassmen in their starting lineup, came into the game with the top goalie in the conference, 2011 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year Joey Pacheco, and they had allowed the fewest goals this season in the league. Pacheco managed to post his fifth shutout in eight games this season.

Yet Dominican, starting two freshmen and five sophomores, were pressing to score on him in the second half. Pedro Guevara recorded two of his three shots and the team's seven in that span.

“We made some adjustments at halftime and we were a much different group in the second half,” said Delano. “Offensively we were more dangerous. We did a lot of good things in the second half.”

Versatile Sam Vella and hard-working David Mendez set up Guevara for a shot, which soared high, early in the second half then freshman defender Danny Manfred initiated another scoring chance when he passed into the right corner for Nuri Bon-Acosta, who crossed the ball. Guevara couldn't quite get a foot on it in front of the goal, but Mendez did near the far post yet his shot was blocked.

Guevara set up Bon-Acosta for another shot with about 20 minutes to play but CBU finally assumed command on the game with goals five minutes apart against a Penguins' team that, to that point, had played the entire game without a substitution.

The Penguins kept close thanks to a pair of saves by sophomore goalie Erik Anderson and solid work from sophomores Fabian Valdez-Mendoza and Cory Vanderpool.

“We did some good things to get ourselves back in the game,” said Delano. “The hard part is that when you chase a game like that and you're down 1-0 and you have so much energy and momentum going your way that when they score that second goal it deflates you a little bit. The effort was there in the second half and that's important.”

Though they spent most of the first half chasing the quick-passing, ball-possessing Lancers, the Penguins played well. Valdez-Mendoza, replacing injured Chris Sennes at center back, led the Dominican defense with solid play and several great tackles. He and Vanderpool, Vella and Manfred limited CBU's scoring opportunities.

In fact, the Lancers didn't record a shot until the game was almost 19 minutes old, but it was a good one. Following a yellow card on Vanderpool, CBU scored off the free kick set piece when Jonathan Fausto set up teammate Cole Schmidt in front for a 1-0 lead.

The Lancers had a couple more dangerous scoring chances in the half, the last when Anderson made a great save on a shot by Michael Salazar, a sophomore from Belize, and Fausto struck the rebound wide right. Salazar wound up scoring the second goal of the game with 18:36 to play.

Dominican's best play in the offensive end happened in the final five minutes. Swap Mushiana launched a beautiful free kick into the box that forced Pacheco to rush out of the goal mouth to catch it. Three minutes later, Kolby Mitnick had a rare first-half touch, but made the best of it, setting up Guevara for a close-in shot that hit the side of the net. That was Dominican's second shot in the first half. CBU had eight.

The Penguins leave Thursday for Hawai'i for a week-long three-game road trip to Oahu beginning with a Friday game against Chaminade University of Honolulu. Game time is 1:00 p.m. Pacific time, 10:00 a.m. in Hawaii.