ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — Thanks to an own-goal header by Stanislaus State defender Mayah Chambers, the Sonoma State Seawolves were able to edge out a victory against the Warriors by a final of 3-2.
Sonoma State came out strong in the first half, taking 18 shots in the first 45 minutes of play. Stanislaus was forced to make four saves, while another SSU shot dinked off the crossbar, keeping the game scoreless until Madison Watts broke through in the 39th minute.
Driving toward the box, Sara Van Wagoner let off a shot toward goal that was deflected and bounced toward the feet of Watts. Warriors keeper Hayley Cook came off her line to try and make a sliding save, but before she could get to the ball, Watts one-timed the ball to the far post, tucking it into the net for her first goal in a Seawolves uniform.
"You know, we've been changing the way we practice," said Watts after the game "That goal was something we've been doing a lot because of indoor, and it just feels rewarding getting that."
The score stood 1-0 at half, but after the break, the Seawolves added two more to their lead.
Alexis Espitia netted her fourth of the year in the 51st minute to give Sonoma State a 2-0 lead. Under pressure, Espitia opened up space and chipped a floater from the top of the box. The ball sunk behind a leaping Crook, doubling SSU's lead.
A minute later, the Seawolves were given a gift goal when a defensive miscue lead to a Stanislaus State own goal. A ball in the air drifting towards the Warriors' box was headed by Mayah Chambers who tried to send it on for her keeper to handle. Unfortunately for Chambers, the ball went off-target, missed Crook and rolled into the goal.
"We had a tremendous amount of energy at the start of the game and during the period that our last two goals were scored," noted Head Coach Emiria Salzmann-Dunn after the match. "But we still need to work on sustaining that energy throughout the game."
Stanislaus made a late-game attempt to come back Scoring in the 55th and 84th minutes respectively, but the Seawolves held onto a one-goal lead to close out the match by a final of 3-2.
"Full credit to Stanislaus for coming back and believing in their ability to get a result. It's always such a tough match-up between our teams and I'm happy today we were on the winning end," added Salzmann-Dunn.
The win—their fourth in a row—pushes Sonoma State to a record of 3-1-0 in conference play and 9-1-0 overall.
The Seawolves return to action early Sunday afternoon when they host Chico State at Seawolf Soccer Field at 11:30am PT.
