SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Dominican men's soccer struggled to beat San Francisco State's high press Sunday afternoon as they fell 3-1 at Kennelly Field.
Dominican's (1-3) lone goal came from a corner kick taken by Arturo Carrillo Contreras from the right side, to connect with Cole Henderson for a header into the back of the net with 26 seconds left in regulation. Goalkeeper Ruben Raygoza had three saves as the Gators outshot the Penguins 12-3 on the day.
The Gators (2-1) contained the Penguins to just two shots on goal. Both shots came in the second half for DUC. Jonathan Orozco and Ramiro Palencia notched a pair of goals for the Gators in the 35th and 86th minute of the match to lift SFSU over Dominican.
San Francisco State controlled possession for much of the first half. Orozco and Otsuka connected on a give-and-go to open up a lane in the left corner for Orozco to take a shot in the 18th minute, but the shot went wide left. Orozco returned for another threat in the 24th minute as he battled to get around his defender and sent a shot a foot high of the crossbar.
The Gators continued to apply pressure on the Penguins backline and Gustav Fink crossed the ball into the box from the right in the 35th minute to find Palencia for a first-touch strike into the top right corner for the 1-0 SFSU lead. Khalil Means finally got off a shot for Dominican in the 37th minute, but missed high from outside the top left of the box.
Five minutes into the second half, the Gators pressured Dominican's defending third once again as Adrian Medina got inside the box and fired a shot into the bottom center of the goal, but Raygoza was there to make the save. In the 58th minute SFSU attacked once more and crossed the ball into the box from the left flank that met a Dominican defender's boot and ended up in the back of the net for an own goal.
The Gators continued their dominance on the offensive attack as Fink tipped a pass to Orozco in the box in the 87th minute and Orozco knocked it in to extend San Francisco State's lead to 3-0.
The Penguins return to the pitch Thursday to face off against Cal State San Bernardino at noon PDT. Live video and stats will be available online.
