The 12th-ranked men’s soccer team scored twice in the first half and then took advantage of two player red cards late in the second half to hold off the Seawolves, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in the last match of the Seawolf Soccer Classic.
jumped on the board first in the 13th minute thanks to a corner kick. Dustin Allbery (, ) sent a quick corner kick to Mutanda Kwesele (), who passed it back to Allbery for an entry pass into the box. Jason Cascio (, ), the 2006 GNAC Player of the Year, was waiting at the left post and sent a header past goalie Brook Johnson to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
The home team tied the match in the 18th minute as Andrew Bailey sent a thru ball to Steven Browne, who dribbled the rest of the way and eluded goalie Emerson DeOliveira () for his and his team’s first goal of the season. had played to a scoreless tie with on Friday.
Cascio continued to pressure the defense, eventually drawing a foul within the box in the 39th minute to create a penalty kick. Eric Forner (, ) succeeded on the penalty kick to give a 2-1 lead, which would hold up going into halftime.
After a combined 22 shots in the first half, the teams became more physical in the second half, combining for only eight shots while earning 17 fouls after halftime. In the match, 13 yellow cards were shown, and Sonoma State picked up four red cards, ejecting two players and two assistant coaches while creating a two-man advantage for the Redhawks in the final 14 ? minutes.
DeOliveira earned his second victory in as many matches, notching three saves and receiving help from his defense with a team save. Johnson finished the match with five saves for the Seawolves.
(2-0) continues on its five-match road swing by traveling to , to face Cal State Stanislaus Wednesday, August 29, at 4 p.m. The team’s home opener is Sunday, September 9, against Notre Dame de Namur at 2:30 p.m. at Championship Field.