Box Score: Sonoma State 2, Western Oregon 1

ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Junior Taylor Colacion headed a pass from freshman Lauren Fryer into the upper right corner of the net with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation to give Sonoma State a narrow 2-1 victory over visiting Western Oregon on Thursday afternoon. It was the season-opener for both squads. The Seawolves are now 16-6-3 on opening day and have won the last five openers.

Sonoma State controlled the field from the get-go, dominating the offensive end by peppering Western Oregon goalkeeper Brittney Rigtrup with shots, including 10 in the opening 25 minutes of the match. The Seawolves outshot the Wolves 15-2 in the first half.

It wasn't until the 15th shot of the game that SSU found the net. Jaci Davey took a pass from Bree Robles, spun to her right, shook the defender and beat Rigtrup one-on-one, just 29 seconds before halftime.

"We came out and played really, really well in the first half, creating numerous opportunities," head coach Luke Oberkirch said. "We got a nice late goal by Davey, who came off the bench and played great for us."

However, it seemed as if the momentum shifted as the second half began. Western Oregon took control offensively and scored an equalizer in the 66th minute on a goal by Marina Austin.

"It was a tale of two halves, really," Oberkirch added. "Our goal was to start the second half faster. We didn't do that and to Western Oregon's credit, they really came out and kind of took it to us there for a while. They got a nice goal and then we had to fight and scrap for everything."

Despite the lopsided number of shots in SSU's advantage, the Seawolves were unable to convert any of the first seven shots of the second half. The eighth and final shot counted, though, as Colacion headed in the cross from Fryer at 89:34, giving Sonoma State the win.

"It was a credit to our mentality," said Oberkirch. "We have been working on ending games, ending halves and that was just a fantastic goal by (Colacion) and a great cross by (Fryer)."

The Seawolves led the match in shots, 23-7. Rigtrup made eight tough saves for the Wolves while her counterpart, SSU's Courtney Grixti made four saves.

Sonoma State will begin California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Sept. 10 when it hosts Cal Poly Pomona at the Seawolf Soccer Field, kicking off at 4 p.m.