SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Cal State East Bay women's soccer put together one of its most complete performances of the season Friday afternoon, cruising to a 5–0 victory over San Francisco State. The Pioneers' attack was relentless from start to finish, powered by a hat trick from
Mika Sayfurahman and a two-goal, one-assist outing from
Morgan Pearson, while goalkeeper
Natalie Hassmann recorded a seven-save shutout.
The win lifts East Bay to 6–8–2 overall and 4–4–1 in CCAA play, keeping the Pioneers in contention for a conference tournament spot as the regular season nears its end.
After an even opening 30 minutes, the Pioneers broke through in the 33rd minute when Sayfurahman fired in the first goal of the day, finishing a rebound off a shot from Pearson to give East Bay a 1–0 lead. Pearson then doubled the advantage just before halftime in the 44th minute, slotting in a breakaway to send the Pioneers into the break up 2–0.
The Pioneers took full control after halftime, striking three times in an 11-minute span. Sayfurahman notched her second goal of the day in the 63rd minute, driving home a shot from outside the box past a diving keeper to make it 3–0. Moments later, Pearson tallied her second goal off a nice pass from
Abigail Kern in the 67th minute. Sayfurahman completed her hat trick in style in the 74th minute, converting from the goal line.
East Bay's offense was sharp all afternoon, outshooting the Gators 16–9 and putting 11 shots on target. Sayfurahman and Pearson combined for five goals on 10 total shots, while Kern and Pearson each added assists.
The result marks East Bay's fourth shutout in CCAA play and their largest margin of victory this year. The Pioneers moved into a 3-way tie for 5
th place with two matches remaining.