SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Cal State East Bay men's soccer opened its 2023 season on Thursday afternoon at Dominican University of California. At Kennelly Field, the Pioneers defeated the Penguins 3-1 in the season opener. For Cal State East Bay, it was the head coaching debut for Mike Haswell.
 

GOAL SUMMARY

• Just 59 seconds into the 2023 season, Aaron Farnan opened the scoring off a turnover that set him up to find the net for a 1-0 lead. 
• The Penguins would score the equalizer in the 5th minute on a Lex Bernier shot to even the match at 1-1.
• Farnan scored the eventual match winner with 13:34 left in the first half that found the lower right side of the frame as Cal State East Bay took a 2-1 lead. Julian Valle assisted on the go-ahead goal. 
• With 12:48 left in regulation, Cal State East Bay added to its lead for a 3-1 score. Marco Campos took a free kick that found Tim Cerjak. Cerjak took a shot that trickled into the net. 

NOTABLE STATS

• For the second time in his Pioneer career, Farnan scored two goals in a match at Kennelly Field. It was nearly a year to the day he scored a pair of goals against the Penguins. 
• Farnan had a total of three shots, all of which were on net. 
• In his first career match in net, Adan Corona made five saves for the victory. 
• Dominican outshot the Pioneers, 20-10 and had a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks.
• Mike Haswell made his head coaching debut on Thursday, and was victorious in his first match directing the Pioneers. 

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Mike Haswell following the 3-1 win on Thursday:
"Excited to be here! Excited to get the opportunity. The boys prepared and worked so hard. They've come through so much adversity and so many challenges over the last months. We came out, we executed, we were prepared. They were mentally ready, they were sharp, excited. Such a good opponent, such a tough opponent too in Dominican, defending PacWest [co-champions], well organized, top players. So for our boys to come out and do what they did today was pretty special."

 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 1-0-0
Dominican (Calif.): 0-1-0
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

The 2023 season continues this coming Saturday when the Pioneers take on Academy of Art. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from CCSF Soccer Field in San Francisco.