HAYWARD, Calif. – Thursday night at Pioneer Field marked the official opening of the 2013 campaign. Cal State East Bay junior Chris Lara scored the equalizer early in the first half, but an early second half score for No. 3 Simon Fraser proved the difference in a 2-1 decision.

"We had a lot of confidence entering tonight, and we will leave this game with confidence," said East Bay Head Coach Andy Cumbo following Thursday's result. "I was happy with the way we played on offense and defense."

Simon Fraser (1-0-0) opened the scoring in the 10th minute following Lucas Ferritto's goal. Teammate Colin Jacques capped off his solo run with a low cross to the feet of Ferritto near the center of the penalty area. The senior forward finished with a right-footed strike towards the right side netting.

East Bay (0-1-0) provided the quick reply with Lara scoring the opening goal of the season for the Pioneers. Teammate Chris Franco provided the cross and Lara finished less than four minutes after falling behind.

Simon Fraser's Jules Chopin netted the game-winner just over four minutes into the second half. The Clan had numbers on the attack but Chopin finished off his own effort with a low screamer across the face of the goal.

Six minutes later a hard tackle from Arnol Arceta received a straight red card and the home side was forced to play with 10 men for nearly the entire second half. Despite trailing and playing a man down, the Pioneers held strong against a 2012 NCAA Final Four squad.

"We were able to generate chances early, and even when playing with 10," said Cumbo. "We held them scoreless while down a man over the final 35 minutes. Bryce Bookhamer and our back line played well."

Bookhamer, CSUEB's goalkeeper, made six saves and stopped a pair of point blank attempts to keep the Pioneers close. Counterpart Scott Shewfelt made four stops in the victory.

Cal State East Bay will take on Notre Dame de Namur in its first road tilt of the season on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 12 p.m.