ALAMEDA, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer found a late equalizer Wednesday afternoon as it battled Cal State East Bay to a 2-2 draw in a seesaw competition at the Oakland Roots Training Facility.
The Penguins (0-1-2) finished with 10 shots and placed two on frame, while the Pioneers (0-2-1) put steady pressure on the Dominican back line with 21 shots and eight attempts on goal.
Colin Nestor made six saves in net for the Penguins, including several late stops to preserve the draw.
Dominican struck less than a minute into the match as
Rolando Gonzalez and
Anthony Stainer helped build the attack from midfield. Stainer played the final ball from the left side to the back post, where
Norman Tellez finished to the lower-right corner to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Cal State East Bay evened the match in the 11th minute as Jefferson Parada converted from the penalty spot. Dominican continued to look for moments in transition, with
Dominic Bolender having a shot blocked in the 36th minute before the Pioneers sent the match into halftime tied 1-1.
The Pioneers went in front early in the second half as Alejandro Zarate drove through several defenders and took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box, beating the keeper to the lower-right corner for a 2-1 lead.
Dominican nearly answered in the 65th minute after spreading the field and finding Tellez near the penalty spot. Tellez had only the goalkeeper to beat, but his attempt sailed just high to keep the Penguins searching for the equalizer.
The pressure continued as Dominican kept Cal State East Bay on its heels, eventually drawing a yellow card in the 72nd minute about 25 yards out on the left side of the attacking third. The Penguins executed the set piece perfectly as
Christian Sotomayor served the ball to the back post, where
Patrick Zamora Salazar headed it back across the face of goal and into the bottom-left corner to tie the match at 2-2. Cal State East Bay picked up the intensity after the equalizer and created a few chances of its own. Kiichi Murakami found space inside the box in the 82nd minute, but Zamora Salazar was able to get his body in front of the shot and deflect it away from goal. Nestor handled the final push from the Pioneers, making saves in the 86th minute and twice in the final seconds to help Dominican secure the road draw.
The road-tested Penguins will face Fresno Pacific on Saturday to conclude its four-game road trip to open the season with kickoff set for 7 p.m. at Ramirez Field.
