ROHNERT PARK -- Sean Callahan broke a scoreless tie in the 23rd minute and
Brenton Frame netted two insurance goals in the second half as the Sonoma State men's soccer team snapped a four-match winless streak with a convincing 3-1 victory over visiting Chico State on Sunday at the Seawolf Soccer Field. The Seawolves improve to 7-5-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the CCAA as the Wildcats stumble to 6-5-1 (1-5-0 CCAA).
"We played great today," said SSU head coach
Marcus Ziemer. "Chico is big and very athletic, but we were able to control the game through ball possession."
At 22:52, Callahan kicked the ball through a scrum of players in the goal box after a corner kick that got knocked around several times before Callahan sent it home. Sonoma led 1-0 at halftime.
Just 5:12 into the second half, Frame scored the first of his two goals on the day, heading in a ball from Callahan and
Zanin Mahic for the 2-0 Seawolf lead.
Chico State responded with a goal in the 67th minute to cut the Sonoma State lead in half after an SSU foul deep in their own territory, but Frame put the Seawolves up by two goals once again after connecting on a free kick just outside of the penalty box. Sonoma continued to put the pressure on Chico, allowing just one shot by the visitors in the second half; the Seawolves outshot the Wildcats 10-5 in the match.
"Our defense was under pressure for periods in the game, and except for the free kick that they scored on, we defended very well," added Ziemer.
"We have missed
Ryan Rohane (out with an injury since the Humboldt State game), but
Nick Godfrey stepped up today and played great and it allowed us to get
Josh Sanchez back in the midfield where he is excellent.
Dane Shaffar has been an unsung hero all season and
Dylan Stafford and
Daniel Theobald came up huge today as well."
Sean Taufer made three saves on Sunday, as did Chico netminder Luke Dennison.
"We needed this win and are still in the mix for a CCAA tourney berth," Ziemer said. "We are just focusing on the little things and taking one game at a time."
Sonoma State will head south next weekend to face Cal State L.A. on Friday at 7:00 pm and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday at 2:00 pm. The Seawolves then return home for their final two home games of the regular season on Oct. 24 (vs UC San Diego) and Oct. 26 (vs Cal Poly Pomona).
