ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — Stanislaus State fought their way back Saturday afternoon from an early 1-0 deficit to beat a short-handed Sonoma State squad in overtime, by a final of 2-1. 

"That was a tough loss," noted Head Coach Marcus Ziemer after the game. "I thought we played very well in the first half and could have had another goal or two. After they scored we responded well and generated chances to win the game, but we couldn't get the goal."

Josh Sanchez put the Seawolves up 1-0 in the 25th minute, sending a shot far-post for the goal—the senior midfielder's first of the season. 

The lead held through halftime, but Stanislaus equalized in the 53rd minute of the match. Adrian Yepez beat SSU keeper Mitch North in the box, and evened the score 1-1.

The score remained knotted at 1, but the Seawolves suffered a loss in the 87th minute that proved hard to recover from. After getting mixed up in a hard challenge with an opposing player, Luis Mendoza was shown a straight red card for use of offensive language.

"The red card was tough," said Ziemer. " The two players got tangled up and words were exchanged, but the referee always gets the retaliation. We need to keep our composure."

The Seawolves played the final three minutes of regulation a man down, before heading to sudden-death overtime to try and determine a winner. 

The game remained evenly matched for the first part of the overtime, but with a minute and 40 seconds remaining, the Warriors walked off winners on a goal by Sean Baird. 

With the loss, Sonoma State falls to 2-2-0 in conference play and 5-4-1 overall.

"We need to bounce back on Sunday," Ziemer affirmed. "Chico [5-0-0 in CCAA play] is on a roll and they are going to be tough."

The Seawolves host first-place Chico Sunday at Seawolf Soccer Field, at 2pm PT.