ROHNERT PARK, Calif— Dominican men's soccer took down Sonoma State University 2-1 in their first win over Sonoma State in the Penguins' (1-2) NCAA Division II history Wednesday evening at Seawolves Stadium.
"We knew coming into today that we needed to be ready for battle against a really hungry, motivated Sonoma team," head coach
David Frank said. "They're always great in possession and have dangerous attacking players that can really hurt you. Our guys really brought the energy and communication throughout the entire game, and that's what made the difference."
Arturo Carrillo Contreras sparked Dominican's offense in the 50th minute of the match with a perfect bicycle kick from inside the box off a ricochet to give the Penguins its first lead over the Seawolves (0-2-1). After SSU tied the score,
Khalil Means drew a foul in the box to earn a penalty kick and senior forward
Luke Raley put it home to record his fourth goal of the year and push Dominican past Sonoma State in the 72nd minute. Sophomore goalkeeper
Ruben Raygoza earned his first win of the season after recording four saves.
"The first goal was unbelievable from Arturo, a senior," Frank said. "Also for the first goal of his career, that was amazing! Our second half was overall just a really well executed half from our entire group, and i'm proud we were able to take care of business and get it done."
In the first half, Sonoma proved the early aggressor. Zane Stromberg slipped past his defender in the left corner and rushed the goal line, crossed it to Kyle Owings in the box who kicked a liner from 10 yards out, but Raygoza was there for the save in the fourth minute.
Sonoma State then tallied consecutive offensive threats in the Penguins' box as Sahr Mattia dribbled the ball down the middle of the field in the eighth minute and sent a blooper over a leaping defender to Sebastian Santos for a shot, but Raygoza made a diving block to clear the ball.
It wasn't long until the Seawolves were back in Dominican's box with their best scoring opportunity of the half. In the 29th minute, Ulysses Vega flipped a ball over a charging Raygoza to Sebastian Santos in front of an empty net, but Santos mishandled the touch and sent the shot high over the crossbar.
After the Penguins first goal, Sonoma quickly redeemed themselves as Brian Field found Vega from the right-wing for a header into the right corner of the goal for the tie in the 53rd minute. After Dominican took the lead in the 72nd minute, it limited the Seawolves to just one shot for the remainder of the match to secure the win.
The Penguins return to Kennelly field Sunday at noon PDT as they welcome San Francisco State. Live video and stats will be available online.
