CHICO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team fell on the road to Chico State on Friday night by a final score of 5-2, the highest-scoring contest of the season for both squads.

The Pioneers (2-8-0, 1-5 CCAA) never led in the game, but they made the Wildcats work hard, answering back each time the home team scored in the first half.

Chico struck first in the seventh minute on a goal by Omar Nuno, but the Pioneers countered in the 18th minute, drawing a foul in the box. Jeremy Romero converted the penalty kick for his third goal of the season to even the score.

The Wildcats scored twice more before halftime as Nuno notched a hat trick, but the Pioneers refused to roll over. In the 38th minute, freshman Yousef Diyab drew a foul just outside the box, and sophomore Michael Paiva blasted the resulting free kick from 25 yards into the top shelf for his second goal of the year.

Chico kept the pressure on in the second half and added two insurance goals to put the game away. The teams combined for 32 shots on the night. Paiva led the way with four shots for East Bay, including two of the team's seven shots on goal. 

"Chico has a good team, and tonight they were able to capitalize on some of our mistakes," said head coach Andy Cumbo. "We have a young squad, and we made some decisions with the ball that put us under unneeded pressure. Paiva had an excellent goal, and Romero continues to build momentum with another score on the PK."

Next up, the Pioneer men return home to host a pair of tough CCAA opponents in Cal Poly Pomona on Friday Oct. 9 and Cal State San Bernardino on Sunday, Oct. 11.