BOX SCORE Sonoma State 2, Cal State Stanislaus 1 -- Box Score

TURLOCK, Calif. -- Taylor Varnadore capped a 10-point weekend with a game-tying penalty kick goal just after halftime and the eventual game-winning goal in the 77th minute as the Sonoma State men's soccer team came from behind to defeat host Cal State Stanislaus 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Turlock. 

With two regular season games left, the Seawolves (8-4-4, 7-4-3 CCAA) have regained the CCAA North Division lead by one point over Cal State Monterey Bay, which suffered a 2-1 loss at UC San Diego, also on Sunday.  The Warriors were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss to SSU, falling to 7-8-1 and 6-8-0 in conference play.

"That was an incredible win," said SSU head coach Marcus Ziemer.  "We showed a lot of character to come back in the second half. We dominated and kept pushing until we got the game-winner."

Sunday started off less than desirable for Sonoma State.  Cal State Stanislaus took an 8-6 lead in shots and a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard into the intermission.  The Warriors scored their goal at 32:47 when Carlos Gavino hooked a corner kick into the wind that carried the ball into the net.

Knowing that Cal State Monterey Bay led 1-0 at halftime down in La Jolla, the Seawolves needed to come out on fire in the second half.  That's what they did.  Sonoma went on to outshoot the hosts 10-0 and two of the 10 shots found the back of the net.  The first score came on a successful penalty kick by Varnadore at 49:50 after Cal State Stanislaus was whistled for a foul in the box.  Tied at 1-1 late in the match, Varnadore struck again, this time at 76:10.

"Varney had an unbelievable second half," added Ziemer.  "His second goal was a volley from the corner of the box that he just hammered into the underside of the bar and it went in."

Four of Varnadore's match-high five shots on the day were taken in the final 45 minutes, but Varnadore wasn't the only one Cal State Stanislaus had to worry about.

"Aaron Glover was giving (the Warriors) fits all afternoon," explained Ziemer.  "He's had a lot of success on (Cal State Stanislaus') field throughout his career."

Beau Diaz made one save in the victory while CSUS' Clint Long stopped five shots.

"We will enjoy this one with some Doc's BBQ and then we will start focusing on (Cal State) East Bay," Ziemer said.  "We know our last two CCAA games aren't going to be easy, but I know my boys will be up for it."

Sonoma State, which is unbeaten in its last six matches, will play its final two regular season games on the road, beginning with a Friday evening matchup at Cal State East Bay (4:30 pm) and ending on Sunday at Humboldt State (2:00 pm).  The Seawolves will need to win the CCAA North Division in order to return to the CCAA Soccer Championships in Turlock for the first time since 2010.  The conference tournament is set for Nov. 8-10.

Ziemer finished by saying, "We are now in control of our own destiny."