HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team fell to visiting Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday afternoon by a final score of 2-1 in the opener of the 2015 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule.
The Pioneers (1-4-0) out-shot the Otters (4-1-0) by nearly double, 21 to 11, but East Bay was only able to put three attempts on goal.
"It's frustrating not to pick up any points on the first day of conference play," said head coach
Andy Cumbo. "We had good moments, but we need to be more productive in front of the goal. We had chances to finish and just didn't capitalize."
Monterey Bay took an early 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Michael Maul took a pass from the left corner right in front of the goal. His shot deflected off the left post, but it ricocheted right to Alejandro Garcia, who smashed a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
East Bay took their 1-0 deficit into halftime despite several opportunities near the Otter goal. 12 minutes into the second half, the home team finally broke through. Sophomore
Jeremy Romero took a deflected pass from
Chris Gaitan, made a move on his defender, then took a left-footed shot from just outside the box that caromed off the inside of the left post into the back of the net. It was the first goal of the season for Romero, who took a team-high eight shots in the game.
Unfortunately, the score was tied for just 15 minutes, as CSUMB retook the lead. Garcia passed over the top to Adam Voloder on the right side of the box. Voloder managed to flip the ball over his defender right in front of the net, where Israel Ayala deflected it past Pioneer keeper
Adrian Topete. Ayala's goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Pioneers couldn't manage any late heroics.
"We need to manage the match better, and scoring more goals will help us do that," Cumbo added. "I thought Jeremy and
Jake Foscalina were productive at times up top, and I think
Juan Alfaro and
Duke Driggs are doing their best to help the team."
East Bay is back in action on Sunday, Sept. 20 when they host local rival San Francisco State at 11:30 a.m.
