SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer rallied for one final goal to take a 2-1 victory over Hawai'i Pacific on Thursday afternoon at Kennelly Field.

Christian Sotomayor and Ben Schumann each scored their first career goals for the Penguins (5-8-1, 3-4-1 PacWest), while Nylmar Gonzalez De Leon recorded four saves to get the win on his senior day. The Sharks (6-6-2, 3-5-0 PacWest) outshot Dominican 11-8 in total shots but shots on goal were even 5-5. 

HPU built momentum in the second half after falling behind 1-0. Gonzalez De Leon made saves in the 62nd and 70th minutes to keep the Penguins in the lead as he faced constant pressure. Paul Norberg threw a ball in that bounced to the foot of Tyson Norr in the center of the box in the 76th minute and Norr turned and beat the keeper back post with a right-footed shot to tie the game at 1-1 for the Sharks.  Dominican brought on fresh legs and went back on the attack immediately. Alejandro Suarez-Amaya took a ball down the right side in the 82nd minute and crossed it back to Schumann near post and his tight angle shot was too hot for the keeper to handle, going off his hands before hitting the inside of the far post and bouncing in for the 2-1 Dominican lead. Kelly Takara had one more chance to tie the game for HPU in the 86th minute as he headed down a corner kick, but Gonzalez De Leon dove on the ball and covered it to preserve the victory.

Dominican had the first opportunity of the game as Sergio Laguna worked himself into some space near the top of the box for a shot but Oliver Holt was there to make the save in the 10th minute. The momentum swung to HPU as they began to control the pace of play with five shot attempts over the next 20 minutes, but each time the shots were either off target or blocked by a defender before they could enter a dangerous area. 

Rolando Gonzalez found some space near the top left corner in the 30th minute for Dominican and sent a shot screaming towards the top-right 90, but it sailed inches high. As the game settled into a battle in the midfield, Anthony Stainer and Norman Tellez worked a quick combo to get Stainer inside the right-side of the box where he crossed the ball to Sotomayor in the middle who redirected the ball inside the back post for the 1-0 Penguin lead in the 36th minute.

HPU opened the second half aggressively and it paid off as Takara found himself wide open inside the box in the 53rd minute but he put too much power on his shot with the open goal in front of him and sent it out of play. Eric Reis looked to add to the Penguin lead in the 59th minute after a yellow card gave them a free kick in the attacking third. Reis's shot was a good one curling towards the left but Oliver Holt made the diving save to keep his team close.

The Penguins will hit the road for two more games beginning at Vanguard on Thursday with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. at VU Soccer Complex in Costa Mesa, California.