ARCATA, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer kept things close but were unable to find the back of the net falling 2-0 to Stanislaus State in its season opener at College Creek Field.
 
Cole Henderson led the Penguins (0-1) with four shots and two on frame from the backline. Wyatt Walsh made five saves for Dominican, but was unable to come away with the victory. Edgar Benitez earned the shutout for the Warriors (1-0) with six saves.


The Penguins were the aggressor early as Arturo Carrillo Contreras put his first shot on frame in the 10th minute, but Benitez was there to make the save. Henderson threatened in the 21st minute as his header was on frame but pushed wide for a corner. Two minutes later Henderson challenged Benitez again with a shot on goal, but was unable to find the back netting.
 
Stanislaus State finally found some offensive momentum in the 32nd minute as Daniel Galvan found Adrian Yepez for the opening goal of the game. After Dominican's back line turned away the next three Warrior shots, Gregg Natt was able to get his head on a ball in the 44th minute, but Benitez was again in position to make the save and send Stanislaus into the half with the 1-0 lead.
 
The Penguins continued to look for the equalizer in the second half with five more shots, but Ryan Kane was able to take advantage of the aggressive play and beat Walsh one-on-one for the 2-0 lead.
 
Dominican will stick around Arcata, California, to take on Humboldt State at 2 p.m. PDT Saturday at College Creek Field. Live stats and video will be available online.