ARCATA, Calif.-- Nearly eight minutes into the second half of a tie game,
Chris Gaitan (2) fired a shot past the Humboldt State keeper to give the Pioneers a 2-1 lead they wouldn't surrender on Friday. It was the third consecutive victory for the Cal State East Bay men's soccer team.
The road win bumps the Pioneers' CCAA record to 3-6 and 5-9 overall. The Lumberjacks record falls to 0-7-2 and 1-10-2 overall.
Jeremy Romero and Steffen Sauer picked up the assists, as they switched fields to give Gaitan the opening he needed to put home the game-winner for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers started the scoring 15:24 into the match, when Romero (4) netted a 30-yard strike to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. The fourth goal of the season for Romero tied him with
Michael Paiva for the team lead in that category.
"The team played well and worked hard for each other," said head coach
Andy Cumbo. "We had a reallt productive week of training, and we executed our objectives today.
Duke Driggs,
Brett Fuchs,
Kellen Crow, and
Fernando Herrera did a great job in the back, and Topete took care of his box. Jeremy had an amazing play on his goal and played Chris a great ball on the second score."
The Humboldt State goal came at 34:32 when Humberto Alvarez scored on a one-touch finish for his second goal of the season. Alvarez was assisted on the play by Trice Smith. It was Smith's fourth assist of the season.
The Pioneers had 14 shots in the game, putting nine of them on goal. The Lumberjacks had 13 shots, though just three were on net. Cal State East Bay had 10 corner kicks to Humboldt State's one.
Romero led the Pioneers with five shots on afternoon.
Steffen Sauer and
Michael Paiva added two shots. Gaitan, Fuchs,
Victor Calderon,
Yousef Diyab, and
Kevin Perez each had one.
Adrian Topete played all 90 minutes in goal and made two saves.
"It was a fun game and the guys continue to make progress and improve," Cumbo added. "This has been an excellent road trip and we look forward to Sunday."
The Pioneers look to extend their winning streak to four when they visit Sonoma State this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Rohnert Park.
