ROHNERT PARK -- Josh Sanchez dribbled deep into Fresno Pacific territory and passed the ball to Armando Coronel, who made a move past FPU goalkeeper Andrew Luis and tapped the ball into the net to break the scoreless tie, which would end up being the game winner in the 1-0 victory for the Sonoma State men's soccer team on Saturday evening at the Seawolf Soccer Field. 

The Seawolves rise to 2-0-0 to begin the season with a pair of wins over West Region powerhouses this weekend.  The Sunbirds dropped to 0-1-1.

After a scoreless first half that saw SSU outshoot FPU 11-7, the visitors came out firing on all cylinders, attempting 11 shots to Sonoma's four in the final 45 minutes.  However, the Seawolves were the only ones to find the net when Coronel, at 66:50, made his move past Luis and gave the hosts a lead they wouldn't relinquish. 

It wasn't without ease, though.  Despite the fact that the Sunbirds had to play a man down for the final 15+ minutes due two a second yellow card issued to Martin Kams, Fresno Pacific outshot Sonoma State 5-0 in the final 15 minutes.  That's when SSU netminder Mitch North continued to make his presence known at the goalmouth, making two point-blank saves, among many others early on.  Time would eventually expire on FPU, signaling SSU's second straight win (and its first shutout) to start the 2015 campaign.

North made eight saves in total while his counterpart, Luis, made six stops.  Fresno Pacific held the advantage in shots 18-15.

Quotes from head coach Marcus Ziemer:

"That was a great win over a tough opponent.  They are a very good team that is going to win a lot of games."

"Fresno Pacific gave us everything they had and even when they went down a man they kept attacking."

"The game could have been 5-5.  Both keepers made some great saves.  Mitch North was very good today and earned the shutout."

"Armando (Coronel) was dangerous.  He just kept going and going and deserved the goal."

"Michel Arroyo and Sean Callahan were great in the midfield on both sides of the ball.  Michel has always been great in the attack, but his commit to defend shows how much he has matured."

"The challenge for us is to keep getting up for every game and bring that type of energy." 

Next Up:

Sonoma State will now hit the road for its next five contests, beginning with a non-conference matchup at Concordia-Irvine on Thursday at 3:00 pm.  The Seawolves won't return home until Sept. 27th when they welcome archrival Chico State to town.