The Sonoma State Men’s Soccer Team came out to play last weekend facing two opponents on home turf. Now on the tail end of their season, the Seawolves met both Cal State Bernardino and San Francisco State this past weekend. 

On Friday, October 21, the Seawolves triumphed against San Bernardino with a score of 2-0. SSU got on the board early with a strike by sophomore midfielder, Jvon Cunningham in the thirteenth minute of the game. A centering pass by teammate Oliver Ziemer set up the shot that beautifully found the top left hand corner of the net and gave the team an early lead.

Cunningham’s second goal of the season gave the Seawolves a spark early on in the game, resulting in strong follow up chances and fluid team chemistry for the rest of the match. Sophomore goalkeeper, Reinier Ter Riet made crucial saves in the first half and carried on his strong performance to secure a shutout recording a total of eight saves.

The Seawolves faced a determined San Bernadino team in the second half, eager for a comeback. The Seawolves combatted the Yotes aggressive play style and found the net in the sixty seventh minute of the game to further their lead. Defender Elliot Stanley found himself just outside the goal box and assisted teammate Bryan Rosales who scored his third goal of the season.

Head Coach Marcus Ziemer, shared what the Friday win meant to him and his team, “This was a huge win for us. San Bernadino is a very good team and we have had several injuries so I was really happy with our effort and work-rate. In addition we played great soccer and scored two beautiful goals.”

Ziemer continued, “Because of injuries we didn’t have a lot of players on the bench, but we used all of our field players and they all contributed.  Oliver Ziemer worked hard and had his best game and assisted on Jvon Cunningham’s incredible goal.” The win against San Bernardino gave the Sewolves a hope they needed heading into Sunday’s game.

On Sunday, October 22, the team faced Cal State San Marcos in their second to last regular season match. The Seawolves would carry over their strong performance to Sunday’s match winning 2-0 and recording two consecutive shutout wins. Senior Captain, Sean Rohane in the thirty fifth minute broke the seal and hammered a free kick for the Seawolves first goal.

The Seawolves faced a shorthanded San Marcos team in the second half following a red card ejection. The team played a strong second half and sealed the deal in the 89th minute with a goal by freshmen winger Michal Gray.

Midfielder Jose Rios Lara expressed his thoughts following the back to back wins, “I feel good about us closing our season as we are very much motivated. I think we excelled because we all believed in each other as a team and held each other accountable.”

Rios Lara continued, “As the season is coming to an end and we are still fighting for a playoff spot, the strategy is to win out this last game to put us in playoffs.” The Seawolves Men’s soccer team wrapped up the weekend with an overall record of 7-7-3 and gathered 6 points between the two games. The SSU men’s soccer team face crucial circumstances heading into their last match.

The Seawolves need either a tie or win in their match against San Francisco State to secure a spot in the CCAA conference tournament. It was last season where the men’s team faced a familiar position and won their final four games to make the postseason. The Seawolves will face San Francisco State this Thursday on home turf at 2 p.m for their final game of the season and battle for playoff hopes.