HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team will kick off their 2019 home opener with a Sunday afternoon contest against the visiting University of Texas-Permian Basin Falcons at Pioneer Stadium at 11:30 a.m.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team kicked off the 2019 campaign with a tough 2-0 neutral site defeat at the hands of the Fort Lewis Skyhawks Friday at Dumke Field.
 
East Bay falls to 0-1 on the season as Fort Lewis finished with a staggering 25-9 shot advantage over the Pioneers. The Skyhawks attempted 16 shots in the second half alone.
 
But sophomore goalie Juan Diego Escalante was up to the challenge as he racked up a career best eight saves. His eight saves on Friday afternoon accounted for more than his 2018 total.
 
Despite the Pioneers accumulating nine shots for the match, true freshman Josh Gaeckle was very aggressive offensively as he attempted a career high five shots with two shots coming on goal. No other Pioneer attempted more than one shot.
 
Sophomore forward Jacob Castro was the only other Pioneer to conclude the season opener with a shot at the Skyhawk's goal.
 
Zack Mason and Victor Aguila each registered a shot attempt in the contest. 
 
The Cal State East Bay men's soccer team concluded their weekend in Utah with a 4-0 defeat to the Westminster College Griffins Sunday afternoon at Dumke Field.
 
Despite the final score of the game, the Pioneers competed through every whistle and played hard until the final horn.
 
East Bay falls to 0-2 on the season as Westminster finished with a close 17-13 shot advantage over the Pioneers. CSUEB was much more aggressive in the first half outshooting WC 7-5. The Griffins bounced back with 12 shots attempts in the second half alone.
 
The first half saw the Griffins take a 1-0 lead just before the intermission on a goal by Preston McIllece. Westminster would go on to add three more goals in the final half of action. By Cristian Alfaro, Adir Hazout and Max Bingman.
 
Sophomore goalie Juan Diego Escalante turned in another great performance with six saves across 90 minutes of action. His six saves were just two shy of his career best mark of eight that he set on Friday afternoon.
 
Freshman Josh Gaeckle paced the Pioneers with five shot attempts with one shot coming on goal. Senior Tyson Griffin finished with two shots including two shots on goal and Ishmam Rahman added two shots of his own with one of those shots coming on goal.
 
Nick LaManna, Miles Ramos, Tommy Flora and Joe Takada all chipped in one shot each, with all but Takada's shot coming on goal.
 
 
PIONEER POINTS
The Pioneers have yet to score a goal on the season, but freshman Josh Gaeckle leads CSUEB with 10 shot attempts with three of those shots coming on goal. Gaeckle is tied for third in the CCAA in shots taken. Tyson Griffin and Ishmam Rahman are both tied for second on the team with two shots each.
 
In goal, Juan Diego Escalante is tied for the conference lead with 14 saves. His .700 save percentage ranks eight in the CCAA.
 
SCOUTING UT-PERMIAN BASIN
The UTPB Falcons are off to a 1-0 start to the season after a 2-1 victory over Colorado Christian to begin the season. Kasper Wallstroem and John Karlsen are both tops on the Falcons with one goal and two points each. Sergio Morgado and Andre Luis Lima both have added one assists apiece. Alfonso Aragon leads UTPB with three saves on the season.