FRESNO, Calif. – Dominican men's soccer twice went in front Saturday night, but Fresno Pacific answered both times as the Penguins battled the Sunbirds to a 2-2 draw at Ramirez Field.
The Penguins (0-1-3) finished with eight shots and placed four on frame, while the Sunbirds (2-1-1) had 24 shots with eight on goal.
Colin Nestor made four saves in net for Dominican, and the Penguins' back line added two team saves to help preserve the draw.
Dominican struck first in the fourth minute as
Nathan Freitas sent a ball toward the back post that weaved between multiple defenders and the goalkeeper before glancing off a defender's knee and into the back netting for a 1-0 lead. Fresno Pacific nearly answered in the 17th minute, but Dominican was able to clear a Brayden Garcia shot off the line.
The Sunbirds continued to push throughout the opening half, with Daniel Perez forcing a save in the 29th minute before Bernardo Novello hit the crossbar moments later. Dominican still created chances of its own, with
Anthony Stainer putting a shot on frame in the 23rd minute and Freitas forcing another save in the 36th as the Penguins took the one-goal lead into halftime.
Fresno Pacific found the equalizer less than three minutes into the second half as Edgar Vega carried the ball up the left side before cutting it back to Zion Vaughn in the center, where Vaughn finished to make it 1-1. Dominican answered in the 63rd minute when
Lucas Flores took a touch past his defender to create space and rocketed a shot from 30 yards out into the netting to put the Penguins back in front.
The lead lasted just over three minutes. After the ball moved out to the right side, Nixon Hansen, who had been down behind the play earlier in the sequence, got back to his feet as the Dominican line stepped past him and found space near goal. Vaughn sent the cross into the box, and Hansen headed it in to tie the match at 2-2 in the 66th minute.
The Penguins were forced to play a man down over the final 24 minutes after a red card was issued following the goal, but they continued to battle through the pressure. Fresno Pacific hit the woodwork in the 73rd minute and forced another clearance off the line less than two minutes later as Dominican narrowly fended off a late deficit.
Adrian Garcia took his own look from distance near the same spot as Flores in the 76th minute, but the attempt went inches wide of the right post as the Penguins missed their chance at the go-ahead goal. Nestor made his final save in the 80th minute, turning away Noah Naranjo's shot, and Dominican held firm the rest of the way to leave Fresno with the draw.
Dominican will return to Kennelly Field on Thursday to host Chico State at 3:30 p.m.
