ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Sunday, October 9th, the Sonoma State men's soccer team came out on the positive end of a wild five-goal affair with Cal State Monterey Bay. After having an early goal disallowed and missing a one-on-one chance in the box in the opening 10 minutes, the Seawolves would overcome a goal deficit and come out on top, 3-2 over the Otters. 

In the 15th minute, Monterey Bay would catch SSU on the counter and convert on a nice slip ball into the box and take an early 1-0 lead. No more than 10 minutes later, senior midfielder Sean Rohane would capitalize on a crucial mistake from the Otters keeper. Rohane would collect a muffed clearance and with the Otters keeper nearly out of his box and well off his line, Rohane would serve a perfectly waited chip over his head and see it bounce into the goal to knot the game at one. 

In the 35th minute, junior midfielder Bryan Rosales would enter the game and go down as one of the biggest subs of the afternoon. Rosales immediately combined with teammate Ulysses Vega and no more than five minutes later, he would get played into the box off a brilliant one-two from Vega and slot his near post shot to give the Seawolves a commanding 2-1 lead. The wind would quickly get taken out of Sonoma State's sails though as an incidental own goal in the 42nd minute would give the Otters life, and tie the game up at two a piece. With under a minute to play, things would seem to get worse as an incidental handball inside the box off an Otters cross would be deemed a penalty, and give Monterey Bay a chance to retake the lead. After discussion and nervous build up before the shot, the Otters forward would step up for the penalty but push it high and wide right off target, giving life to the SSU crowd and keeping the game tied at two, as the first half finally came to an end. 

Head coach Marcus Ziemer would get his squad right and see a response right away in the second half. With some early pressure on the Otters back line, the Seawolves would force a mistake just five minutes into the second half and see freshman Michael Gray convert his first collegiate goal. On a long ball played forward by SSU, Gray would give chase and force the Otters center back to make a play. With their keeper also coming out to collect the ball, miscommunication would force Monterey Bay's center back to head the ball over his keeper in an attempt to play it back to him. Gray would run onto the misplayed ball and simply tap it in for the game's 5th goal and give the Seawolves a wild 3-2 lead. 

Sonoma State's back line would hunker down and hold on to their goal advantage for the next half hour and secure their 5th win of the season. SSU's staples came to play as center backs Matt Walleigh and Federico Barbieri combined for their 23rd start and senior captain Sean Rohane recorded his first goal of the season in his 90 minutes of action. "Great win today for our guys", said head coach Marcus Ziemer. "That was a game we needed to stay in the hunt. We were playing well again but despite giving up a goal against the run of play, we picked our heads up and kept fighting. Michael Gray has been really effective the last couple of games and our captain Sean Rohane was solid in the midfield. He contributed on both sides of the ball, making some nice defensive plays but also controlling the pace of play and helping build possession for us."

Ziemer and his squad will look forward to some exciting matches against two nationally ranked teams, including the defending national champions, next week as they head south to take on Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona.    

Sonoma State improves to 5-5-3 overall and inch a game closer to .500 at 2-3-1 in conference play. The Seawolves will start their road trip on Friday, October 14th against Cal State LA. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM at University Stadium, 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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