HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay men's soccer has two chances to earn its first league points of the season on Friday against Sonoma State and Sunday versus Cal State Monterey Bay inside Pioneer Stadium.
"We aren't stressed about not picking up any points last weekend, but we do realize the importance in picking up some points this weekend," said East Bay Head Coach
Andy Cumbo. "We've been looking forward to both of our games this weekend. We expected more out of ourselves last weekend and were disappointed in our overtime results to two teams doing well right now."
Cal State East Bay vs. Sonoma State (Match Notes)For only the first time this season Cal State East Bay did not win a match in which it scored. The Pioneers dropped its first two league matches in overtime including a 3-2 road defeat to San Francisco State on Sunday.
Its opponent on Friday also suffered a 3-2 overtime loss on Sunday as HSU's Chuck Pitts completed his hat trick to end the match. The Seawolves are just 1-2-0 on the road this season and averaging one goal per game. In contrast, SSU is 4-1-0 at home and averaging 2.40 goals per contest.
Armando Coronel and Cedric Dinane lead the team with three goals apiece. The Seawolves are 4-1-0 this season when either of them scores. Goalkeeper Sean Taufer leads all CCAA players with 35 saves in 2014.
It could be a high-scoring affair as Sonoma State has allowed the second most goals among CCAA teams (13) and Cal State East Bay the third most (11) heading into the weekend. However four of the past five meetings have ended in 1-0 final scores with the exception a Sonoma State 2-1 overtime win in last year's season finale.
Javier Martin,
Luigi Castillo, and
Michael Tieku lead the Pioneers with two goals each. Martin and Castillo scored both of their respective goals in single matches and game-winning performances. Tieku and
Adrian Maldonado each scored in Sunday's contest against the Gators.
Cal State East Bay has not defeated Sonoma State in eight official California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matches since the Pioneers joined the league in 2009. CSUEB last defeated Sonoma State in the 2012 season finale in which Martin assisted on the game-winning goal against Taufer.
Cal State East Bay vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (Match Notes)Cal State Monterey Bay will face San Francisco State on Friday before heading to Hayward for Sunday's contest. The Pioneers have won the last two meetings with the Otters inside Pioneer Stadium, while the Otters will be in search of their first road win this season.
CSUMB is coming off back-to-back CCAA shutout losses to Sonoma State and Cal State Stanislaus. The Otters offense ranks last among the 12-team CCAA squads scoring only six goals in seven contests. Cal State Monterey Bay has scored twice in three matches posting a 1-1-1 record in those contests.
Duce Bell leads the squad with two goals coming in a losing effort to Fresno Pacific. Goalkeeper Evan Drake enters this weekend fifth in the CCAA with 25 saves on the year.
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