COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Cal State East Bay women's soccer opened its 2025 season Thursday evening at Mountain Lion Stadium, falling 3-2 to UC Colorado Springs. The Pioneers struck twice in the first half, but the Mountain Lions responded with two second-half goals to claim the win.
 

GOAL SUMMARY

• 7' UCCS 1-0: Brooke Pavlich broke the deadlock early when she finished inside the box after a quick buildup, with Abby Stassi and Taylynn Levi combining on the setup.
• 31' Tied 1-1: East Bay answered from a set piece. Off a corner tapped into play by Hayley Watson, Mika Sayfurahman swung a cross into the middle, where Jaeden Nelson headed in the equalizer.
• 42' East Bay 2-1: The Pioneers pulled ahead just before halftime when Sayfurahman struck from distance. After Jenna McDonnell fed her the ball in space off a turnover, the Sayfurahman unleashed a shot from more than 40 yards that skipped into the right side of the net.
• 53' Tied 2-2: UCCS leveled the match shortly after halftime. Stassi latched onto a combination from Pavlich and Levi, slotting home from close range to make it 2-2.
• 73' UCCS 3-2: Stassi provided the match-winner with her second goal of the day, capitalizing on a feed from Emily Aguilar and Levi to put the Mountain Lions ahead for good.

NOTABLE STATS

• Sayfurahman's goal was the 18th in her career, putting her alone for eighth all time in Pioneer history.
• Nelson's goal was her second as a Pioneer.
• Morgan Pearson led East Bay with three shots.
• Taylor Hodges and Abigail Kern each recorded two shots.
• Goalkeeper Ashley Levi made four saves.
• UCCS held an 11-9 edge in total shots and a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal.

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Anne Whipple:
"We put together a solid performance against a very good UCCS side. While we weren't able to that final moment in the second half to get us back in the game, I'm really proud of how our group competed. A lot of our younger players stepped up and played major, impactful minutes, and that experience will be huge for us moving forward."
 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 0-1-0
UC Colorado Springs: 1-0-0
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

Cal State East Bay continues its season-opening road trip with a fixture at Dominican (Calif.) on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m. at Kennelly Field in San Rafael. The Pioneers and Penguins last met in 2022, when Dominican earned a 2-0 result.