BOX SCORE Sonoma State 4, Humboldt State 1 -- Box Score

ROHNERT PARK -- The Sonoma State men's soccer team continued to do all they can to keep itself in the hunt for a spot in the CCAA Soccer Championships in two weeks, scoring four unanswered goals to claim a 4-1 statement victory over visiting Humboldt State on Friday at the Seawolf Soccer Field. 

Taylor Varnadore fueled a dominating effort on offense, scoring a pair of goals and assisting on the other two by Sean Callahan and Kelly Davila as the Seawolves improved to 7-4-4 overall and 6-4-3 in the CCAA.  The Lumberjacks fell to 6-8-1 and 4-8-1 in conference play.

CCAA North Division leader Cal State Monterey Bay defeated Cal Poly Pomona 3-1 on Friday to remain two points ahead of Sonoma State in the standings with three regular season games left.

"That was a proper send off for our seniors," said SSU head coach Marcus Ziemer.  "Varnadore, Beau Diaz, Trevor Tennant, Aaron Glover, Davila and Nico Spann will all be missed, but they still have a lot of season left."

"Varnadore was a beast today," added Ziemer.  "He is a handful and has been on fire the past five games.  Callahan had a great game today -- he scored a nice goal with his head and was really shifty with the ball.

Sonoma State came out with a plethora of emotion, but a defensive miscue in the 29th minute allowed visiting Humboldt State to silence the hometown crowd and take a 1-0 lead.  However, just over six minutes later, Spann sailed a free kick into the box where Varnadore came crashing in to redirect the ball just enough to get past HSU keeper Ryan Ades and into the net for the equalizer.

"When they scored in the first half I knew that we could come back," Ziemer said confidently.  "The (Humboldt State) goal was against the run of play, but I thought that we were playing very well."

Five minutes into the second half still tied at one apiece, Callahan headed in a throw in from Daniel Theobald on the far sideline to put the Seawolves up 2-1.  Eight minutes later at 58:37, the Lumberjacks were called for a foul in the box, allowing Varnadore to step up and score the ensuing penalty kick to give SSU a two-goal lead at 3-1.  Then, to put the game away, Davila netted his 10th career goal on a pass from Varnadore at 86:19 for the eventual 4-1 victory.

While Sonoma State pounded out 21 shots, the Seawolf defense was stifling, holding the 'Jacks to just nine attempts.  Diaz made two saves in the victory while his counterpart, HSU's Ades, made seven stops between the posts.

"Our defense played well," Ziemer said.  "Trevor (Tennant) has been outstanding in the back.  He is finishing off his career in great form."

"We just need to focus on one game at a time and hope that (Cal State) Monterey Bay slips up," added Ziemer.  "(CSUMB) have a tough schedule so we just need to take care of our business and hope to get a little help."

Sonoma State now sets its sights on the road as it will play its final three games of the regular season away from the Seawolf Soccer Field.  It begins with a tough test on Sunday when the Seawolves travel to Turlock to face Cal State Stanislaus (6-7-1, 5-7-0 CCAA).  Kickoff between the Seawolves and Warriors is set for 2:00 pm.

Ziemer finished by saying, "(Cal State) Stanislaus will be tough on Sunday.  They started slow in conference, but have picked it up and have been winning games."