SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer created several opportunities to pull even Saturday afternoon, including an
Adrian Garcia strike off the crossbar, but PacWest-leading Point Loma scored in the opening minute and added a late insurance goal to earn a 2-0 victory at Kennelly Field.
Dominican moved to 2-4-4 overall and 1-1-1 in PacWest play, while Point Loma improved to 7-3-3 and 4-1 in the conference. The Sea Lions held a 15-12 advantage in shots and a 7-4 edge in shots on goal, while the Penguins generated eight corner kicks to Point Loma's three.
Point Loma capitalized on a Dominican turnover just 55 seconds into the match. Jack Merrill intercepted a poor pass out of the back and combined with James Haynes on a quick give-and-go before receiving the return ball in the middle of the box and finishing for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Merrill's sixth of the season. Dominican began finding opportunities of its own shortly afterward.
Norman Tellez moved the ball to
Sebastian Jaral on the left side of the box in the 14th minute, but Jaral's quick attempt sailed high.
Jake Kazlauskas later put an effort on frame in the 17th minute, forcing Jeremy Caringella into his lone save of the opening half.
The Penguins continued to push after halftime and nearly found the equalizer in the 52nd minute. Garcia took aim and drove his shot toward the upper-right corner, but the attempt struck the crossbar and stayed out. Dominican generated another promising stretch around the hour mark.
Brody Anand and Garcia quickly shifted the attack from right to left before the ball reached Jaral, whose attempt in the 59th minute went high. Jaral found himself in another dangerous position less than a minute later but again missed the mark with his shot.
Rolando Gonzalez forced Caringella into a save in the 67th minute, and
Lucas Flores put another attempt on frame in the 74th as Dominican continued searching for the equalizer. Point Loma threatened on the counter in the 71st minute when Haynes found himself with a point-blank opportunity, but
Colin Nestor reacted quickly to turn away the shot and keep Dominican within one. Nestor made four saves in the match, increasing his career total to 94 and leaving him six shy of Christian Lathrop for sixth on Dominican's all-time list.
The Sea Lions finally created separation in the 84th minute. Merrill played a free kick into space for Cole Friesen, who carried toward the top of the box before beating Nestor at the near post for the 2-0 advantage at 83:20. Dominican remained aggressive to the end, earning two corner kicks in the final six minutes and producing one last attempt from
Patrick Zamora Salazar, but Point Loma held on for the clean sheet.
The Penguins remain home Wednesday to host Concordia University Irvine at 3:30 p.m. at Kennelly Field.
