Box Score: #25 Sonoma State 3, #10 Cal State San Bernardino 1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Taylor Varnadore started right where he left off on Friday. The true freshman scored two goals on Sunday, putting his weekend -- and season -- total at four, propelling No. 25 Sonoma State to a dominant 3-1 victory over No. 10 Cal State San Bernardino on Sunday afternoon at the Seawolf Soccer Field. The Seawolves rise to 3-1-0 and earned their first conference victory (1-1-0 CCAA). The Coyotes fell to an identical record of 3-1-0, 1-1-0.

"I was really happy with how we bounced back after a tough loss on Friday," head coach Marcus Ziemer said. "We have been scoring a lot of goals, but have given up some soft goals. While training yesterday, we focused on getting more organized on defense and it really showed today. Varnadore is off to a great start for a true freshman. He is a great target and also very good in front of goal."

The nationally-ranked Coyotes scored the match's first goal when Julio Ayala found the net after a loft pass from Obi Agwu to the center of the box for Ayala's first score of the season.

The lead lasted all of 21 seconds as Sonoma State's Kelly Davila sprinted down the field and found Varnadore running in behind the defense. Varnadore took Coyote goalkeeper Tanner Olinger one-on-one, winning the battle and putting the ball into the net for the equalizer.

Just before halftime, a Cal State San Bernardino defender illegally tackled a SSU attacker, setting up a free kick by Ebby Lombardi from no more than 20 yards out. Lombardi angled a shot around the wall of CSUSB defenders and into the upper right corner of the net to give the Seawolves a 2-1 lead at 44:15.

Sonoma State led 8-3 in shots in the opening 45 minutes, but SSU netminder Juan Sosa made two saves to Olinger's zero.

At 62:00, Varnadore struck again. A cross from Trevor Hurst near the left sideline was placed perfectly at the goalmouth, allowing Varnadore to fly in with a header, putting the ball into the lower right net and giving SSU a solid 3-1 lead.

The Coyotes held the advantage in shots in the final half, 6-4, but the Seawolves led overall (12-9). Sosa made four saves while Olinger made just one stop between the posts.

Said Ziemer, "Lombardi did a great job defending (conference scoring leader) Obi Agwu and Kyle Honaker, Ryan Hall and Trevor Tennant all played well in the back. David Holleran also had a great game on both sides of the ball. He was tough defensively, won a lot of head balls and really helped us keep the ball. We have a few days to regroup and then we will have another tough weekend with Cal State East Bay and UC San Diego.

Sonoma State will return to the pitch on Friday to host Cal State East Bay at 4 p.m. at the Seawolf Soccer Field.