HAYWARD, Calif.,-- The Cal State East Bay women's soccer team will return to Pioneer Stadium for a midweek showdown against visiting bay area rival Cal State Monterey Bay on Wednesday afternoon, October 27. Kickoff will begin at 4:30 p.m. The Pioneers will then travel across the Bay Bridge for a Friday afternoon showdown against the San Francisco State Gator at Cox Stadium. 
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers are 3-6 on the season and 1-3 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. East Bay dropped two tough road matchups against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, teams ranked in the top half on the conference standings.
 
The Cal State East Bay women's soccer team dropped a tough road battle to the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos by a score of 1-0 on Friday night, September 22 at Kellogg Field.
 
Both defenses put up as tough outing as the squads attempted 12 shots apiece, eight for CPP and four for CSUEB. The teams chipped in three shots at the frame each, as it would be Cal Poly Pomona who would capitalized when it mattered most to come away with the victory.
 
It wasn't until the 63rd minute of the action that the scoreless drought was broken by the Broncos Alison Kung.
 
Freshman Lauren McDougal paced the Pioneers with two shots one shot attempted at the frame. Miranda Gonzalez and Bri Vallente both put up one shot for East Bay.
 
Freshman Ina Gonzalez logged two saves for CSUEB and patrolled the Pioneers net for the full 90 minutes of game action.
 
Against CSUSB, the Pioneer women's soccer team dropped a tough overtime thriller to close out their CCAA road trip. The game-winning goal inside the box from Cal State San Bernardino's Cassandra Bermudez in the 99th minute secured the 2-1 victory for the Coyotes.
 
The squads played a competitive 98 minutes and registered an even 13 shots each. The defense played in the first half was exceptional as both teams entered the intermission deadlocked at 0-0.
 
The Coyotes scored first in the 55th minute to take a 1-0 advantage. But East Bay would respond late in the second half as Savannah Schultz connected on a header delivered on the cross by Allison Smith to even the game 1-1 in the 80th minute.
 
For Schultz, a junior from Folsom, Calif., it was her first goal of the 2017 season and second of her Pioneer career. Smith a sophomore from El Grove, Calif., tallied her second helper of the year.
 
The Pioneers led the shots at the frame 6-4 and freshman goal keeper Ina Gonzalez picked up two saves during the match. She now has a team-leading 22 saves and a .595 save percentage on the season.
 
BUITRAGO'S PIONEER POW
Freshman Abby Buitrago (San Jose, Calif.) had a memorable last Friday against Humboldt State, scoring the first two goals of her collegiate career to pace the squad to a 2-1 victory. They were also CSUEB's only two goals of the week and helped the Pioneers finish the first week of CCAA play with a 1-1 record. 
 
Buitrago scored the first goal of the game against the Jacks in the 29th minute, beating a defender in the box off an assist from Lauran McDougal Then with the game tied 1-1 in the 72nd minute, Buitrago scored again off a rebound to clinch a dramatic win for East Bay.
 
She was selected as one of Cal State East Bay's Athletes of the Week for Sept. 11-17.
 
FERNANDEZ'S FURIOUS FINISHES & MCDOUGAL'S MAGICAL MOVES
Junior Aulani Fernandez, (Brentwood, Calif.) currently leads the Pioneers with three goals on the year. Fernandez's two-goal game against Fresno Pacific was the first multi-goal performance of her Pioneer career.
 
Freshman Lauren McDougal (Elk Grove, Calif.) s pacing East Bay with three assists on the season. McDougal is tied for second in the CCAA with three assists as well.
 
GONZALEZ GIANT IN GOAL
Freshman Ina Gonzalez has showed tremendous promise thus far in the net this season. Gonzalez has appeared in eight games making seven starts. She has logged 22 saves through 86 shots faced.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Otters enter the match with a 3-3-3 overall record and 1-2-1 mark in conference play after weekend losses to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. Haley Nishimoto leads CSUMB with four goals on the season. Ashlee Cortez has a team-leading four assists for the Otters and Alyssa Noh has started eight games in the net and leads Monterey Bay with 31 saves and a .833 save percentage.

SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO STATE
The Gators will enter their battle against CSUEB with a 5-2-1 mark overall and a 0-1-1 record in CCAA play after falling to Chico State and tying Stanislaus State last week. Laura Shea leads SF State with four goals on the season and Vanessa Penuna has a team-leading four assists. Christina Holguin leads the Gators in the net with 14 saves and five starts.