SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer created chances throughout the afternoon Thursday, but Chico State found the lone breakthrough in the 83rd minute to edge the Penguins 1-0 at Kennelly Field.
Dominican (0-2-3) finished with a 12-9 advantage in shots and placed six attempts on frame, while Chico State (2-3-0) put four shots on goal.
Colin Nestor made three saves for the Penguins, while Nickolas Molina finished with six saves to preserve the shutout for the Wildcats.
The Penguins put the first shot on frame less than five minutes into the match as
Christian Sotomayor tested Molina with an attempt down the middle. Dominican nearly struck again in the 12th minute when
Adrian Garcia put an attempt toward the bottom-right corner, but Molina was able to make the save. The Wildcats had one of their best early chances in the 17th minute as Darius Dukes touched a pass near the spot to his left and loosed a shot at a tight angle, forcing Nestor to parry the shot out of play.
Chico State continued to create chances midway through the first half, with Simon Vaca-Lorenzi taking a shot near the top right corner of the box to the back post forcing Nestor to make a diving save in the 24th minute. The Wildcats came closest in the 34th minute when Solis hit the left post.
Dominican answered moments later as
Sebastian Jaral got his head to a ball in the 36th minute, but the attempt did not have enough strength to beat Molina. Jaral forced another save in the 39th minute, and the Penguins had a late flurry before halftime with
Lucas Flores,
Jake Kazlauskas and Sotomayor each getting attempts off in the final minute of the half.
The Penguins continued to push after the break and earned two corner kicks in the opening 11 minutes of the second half. Garcia sent a shot wide right in the 58th minute before
Anthony Stainer broke away down the right side for a good look at the angle but his attempt missed high in the 72nd. Stainer came even closer in the 75th minute when the ball fell to him near the top of the box and he drove a shot toward the lower-left corner, but Molina made the diving save.
Chico State found the deciding goal in the 83rd minute after a free kick into the box was headed around and eventually found Jacob Tyberg. The defender was able to body the ball into the back netting after Vaca-Lorenzi and Morris each got touches in the buildup, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Dominican nearly produced an immediate response less than two minutes later as Garcia took a shot from 25 yards out in the 85th minute. The strike was headed for goal, but Molina got his fingers to it to keep it out of the net and force a corner kick. Dominican earned another corner moments later, but the Penguins were unable to find the equalizer over the final minutes.
Dominican will return to the pitch Saturday as it travels to play Stanislaus State at 7 p.m. at Warrior Stadium.
