SAN RAFAEL, Calif. –
Sebastian Jaral and
Jake Kazlauskas scored seven minutes apart in the first half and
Colin Nestor made six saves as Dominican men's soccer earned its first win over Vanguard with a 2-1 victory Friday afternoon at Kennelly Field.
The Lions (5-7-2, 4-2-1 PacWest) entered the afternoon alone atop the conference standings and finished with a 17-10 advantage in shots and 7-6 edge in shots on goal, but the Penguins (4-4-4, 3-1-1 PacWest) made their early opportunities count and protected the lead throughout a busy second half.
Dominican struck first in the 12th minute. Kazlauskas raced goalkeeper Caleb Johnson to a ball played forward and won the challenge, chesting the ball down into the path of a trailing Jaral. With Johnson drawn away from his line, Jaral collected the loose ball and finished into the open net for his fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead at 11:41. The Penguins doubled the advantage just over seven minutes later.
Nathan Freitas drove a long ball over the Vanguard back line, allowing Kazlauskas to run onto it in space. The junior beat the defense to the pass and finished past Johnson into the lower-left corner for his team-leading sixth goal of the season at 18:53.
Vanguard pushed to find an answer and eventually cut into the lead shortly before halftime. Alan Leon crossed from the right side in the 44th minute, with the ball glancing off a Dominican defender before falling to Anthony Medina near the penalty spot. Medina settled the chance and drove a right-footed finish into the lower-right corner to make it 2-1.
The Lions applied significant pressure after the break, taking 10 shots and earning 10 corner kicks over the final 45 minutes. Nestor was called on immediately, stopping Sidney Dina just 53 seconds into the half, and later turned away Robert Ronco, Xavier Alcantar and Henry Garcia as Dominican protected its one-goal advantage. Dominican continued to create opportunities of its own. Jaral forced Johnson into a save in the 55th minute before
Julio Castro Altamirano nearly provided an insurance goal after
Norman Tellez sent a cross into the area to find his head. Johnson was able to reach back with his right arm as the ball went back against his momentum and collected the dangerous attempt to keep Vanguard within a goal.
The Penguins also generated three consecutive corner kicks during a sustained spell of pressure in the 76th and 77th minutes, but could not find the second-half breakthrough. Vanguard continued pushing at the other end, forcing Nestor into two more saves during the final 10 minutes before Dominican saw out the victory. Nestor's six saves carried additional significance in the Dominican record book. The senior entered the match seventh all-time with 96 career saves and raised his total to 102, passing Christian Lathrop's 100 to move into sixth place in program history. The victory also gave Dominican its first win in three all-time meetings with Vanguard after the Lions won the first two matchups in 2024 and 2025.
Dominican heads to Hawai'i for three consecutive PacWest road matches beginning Wednesday at Chaminade with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. HST.
