CAL STATE EAST BAY (2-8, 0-4 CCAA) at HUMBOLDT STATE (5-5, 1-4 CCAA)
Friday, Oct. 18  |  3 p.m.
College Creek Field
 
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CAL STATE EAST BAY (2-8, 0-4 CCAA) at SF STATE (6-3, 3-2 CCAA)
Sunday, Oct. 20  |  2 p.m.
Cox Stadium
 
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HAYWARD, Calif. — It's been a year of firsts for Stoil Ganev.

First, the junior transfer scored his first collegiate goal against Sonoma State on Oct. 4.

More recently, the Minneapolis, Minn., native experienced his first earthquake this past week when two shook the Bay Area.

But overall, his transition to life on the west coast has been smooth.

"It's been a good adjustment, I'm definitely enjoying life out here," Ganev said prior to Wednesday's practice. "It's a lot warmer (than Minnesota).

"It was a great experience for me personally to finally score a collegiate goal. It's something everyone wants to do, so it was great to accomplish that."
 
Cal State East Bay (2-8, 0-4 CCAA) had last weekend off following a non-conference road matchup against UC Santa Cruz, and is set to finish strong in the back half of the season.

Ganev believes the time off helped prepare the Pioneers for the stretch run.

"We're feeling pretty good," he said. "We re-energized, refocused and are ready to start the second half of the season. It's always good to take a mental break."

Head coach Mike Bielski acknowledged the team needed to take advantage of the time away after a stretch of four games in eight days.

"The first two games we showed up well, but in the last two you could see our legs weren't quite where we needed to be," said Bielski. "But we're excited to get back at it.

"The guys are very motivated and they came off the break with a lot of energy. Practices have been great this week."
 

The Pioneers resume California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play this weekend with a road contest at Humboldt State (5-5, 1-4) on Friday, Oct. 18, followed by a showdown at San Francisco State (6-3, 3-2) on Sunday, Oct. 20.

The goal is to finish strong in the final eight contests of the regular season.

"We need to do our best to play a complete 90 minutes," said Ganev. "We've started a bit slow in previous games, but we're looking to put the emphasis on the beginning of the game and keep up the intensity."

PIONEER POINTS