ROHNERT PARK -- In a game that had a bit of everything, including a 45-minute delay for lightning, Sonoma State got an important 1-0 win over Cal State Monterey Bay in their CCAA opener on Friday at Seawolf Field. The Seawolves got a 19th-minute goal from Cedric Dinane and a stellar defensive effort to earn their three points, improving to 6-2-0, 1-0-0 CCAA on the season. The Otters drop to 1-3-2, 0-1-0 CCAA.
The game's lone goal came when Dinane beat the goalkeeper in the 19th minute off a double assist from
Raspreet Sandhu and
Josh Sanchez. Said head coach
Marcus Ziemer, "Cedric has been on a good run now that he is healthy. He has scored in 3 straight games and has been very dangerous."
"Our ball possession was great in the first half," commented Ziemer, "but I was a little upset at halftime because we didn't have a killer instinct to go for the 2nd goal. We left them in it."
Things got interesting in the second half. After watching grey clouds creep towards the field in the first half, thunder and lightning finally arrived around the 67th minute, necessitating a swift evacuation of the facility. NCAA rules require a minimum of 30 minutes between lightning strikes - a span that grew to as many as 45 minutes before the teams returned to the field to complete the game.
The final 23 minutes also brought significantly chippier play as five yellow and two red cards were shown in the final quarter of the game.
While the play was physical, the Sonoma State defense earned the shutout with an outstanding effort against a team doing whatever they could to find the equalizer. Said Ziemer, "Our defense was very sharp.
Sean Taufer didn't have a lot to do until after the lightning break, but he came up big."
Continued Ziemer, "Our pressure has been great. Everybody is on board and working hard and we are using our depth."
The stat sheet showed a very close game with Sonoma holding an 11-9 shot advantage and a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.
Ziemer concluded by saying, "That was a great win because they are a quality opponent that is going to beat some teams. Humboldt will be very tough on Sunday, so we need to recover tomorrow and get ready for a battle."
The Seawolves are back in action on Sunday when they host Humboldt State. In addition to the game against the Lumberjacks, they will be showing their support for Women's Cancer Awareness and promoting the Lori Maycock Memorial Scholarship Fund.
