LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - On Friday, October 14th, the Sonoma State men's soccer team kicked off arguably their toughest road trip of the season as they faced off against the defending national champions and currently the 8th ranked team in the nation, Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles have shown some signs of vulnerability this season with a loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills and ties to Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State earlier this season. The Seawolves were on the same trend with a tough and even first half until an early penalty in the 51st minute would put the Golden Eagles on the board and start the scoring run. SSU would go on to fall 3-0, giving up all three goals in the second half in what was certaingly a tale of two halves. 

FIRST HALF (0-0):

With some key injuries on the season head coach Marcus Ziemer has continued to rely on his quality young talent with several freshman offensive players. A part of that group is freshman midfielder Oswaldo Rojas who recorded his second start of the season and would help control the midfield for much of the first half. With a slow start to the game, much of the first half would be played in the middle of the field as both teams struggled to generate any threatening chances on goal. 

The teams would combine for just five shots and with the Seawolves in a comfortable position and going toe-to-toe with the defending national champs, they would look for just one opportunity in the second half to grab a goal and sneak out University Stadium with a win. 

SECOND HALF (0-3):

The final 3-0 scoreline would not be indicative of the overall story as an unfortunate penalty call in the first six minutes of the second half would prove to be the downfall for Sonoma State. The Seawolves would get caught in ball possession deep in their own half. Veteran center back Matt Walleigh would get his first touch stuck underneath him as he received a back pass from outside back Elliot Stanley. The Golden eagles forward would get inside leverage on Walleigh and strip the ball just outside the box. As he drove into the box, Walleigh would try to make a tackle from behind but enough contact would draw the penalty call from the official. The Cal State LA penalty taker would slot the ball into the bottom right corner to give them a 1-0 lead. 

It took just another seven minutes for the Golden Eagles to tack on another goal and take a commanding 2-0 lead. Once again, Seawolves ball loss in their own half would result in a shot from the top of the box that found it's way into the bottom right corner. An attempted long diagonal ball from SSU's back line would come up short and get picked off nearly 50 yards from goal. The Golden Eagles forward would drive towards the box on a solo run and let a shot go just outside the 18 and rattle the back of the net to give LA a 2-0 lead. 

The 8th ranked team in the country would really show their danger in transition on their third goal as once again, ball loss in the middle of the field would trigger their counter attacking offense. LA only needed a couple passes to put themselves in on goal. A shot just outside the box would would be saved by second year keeper Reinier ter Riet but the rebound would be hammered home from a really tight angle on the right side of the box, putting the game to bed as the Golden Eagles finished off the Seawolves, three goals to none.

Some key bench players saw career minutes on the night as forward Oliver Ziemer finished with a shot on goal and a season high 41 minutes played. Midfielder Bpen Kareth made his second appearance of the season and recorded a season high 11 minutes. Midfielders Nathan Arnott and Ulysses Vega each recorded two shots in the contest while ter Riet finished the night with four saves. Sonoma State falls to 5-6-3 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play. The Seawolves will take on another nationally ranked team in Cal Poly Pomona to conclude their road trip on Sunday, October 16th. Kickoff is slated for 11:30 AM at Kellogg Field, live stats and ticket links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com and the game can also be streamed live on the CCAA Network. 

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