The Sonoma State Seawolves fought hard in their win against Dominican University this past Wednesday at Seawolf Field. This was a special day for the Seawolves as they encountered some adversity against the Penguins but ultimately fought through it and came out on top. 

Seawolf midfielder Ulysses Vega broke the game open in the twenty eighth minute of the game when he scored a stunning free kick for Sonoma. The Penguins instantly returned the favor as Lex Bernier assisted Christopher Barrios for a goal in the twenty ninth minute. The atmosphere in the stands was very intense as fans from both teams were pulling heavily for their respective team. 

The first half of the game belonged to the Penguins as they were more aggressive and were setting the tone for the game. Coach Marcus Ziemer mentioned how talked up his team at the half to try to change this. 

“I thought Dominican worked harder and won a lot of the 50-50 balls in the first half, but we challenged our guys at halftime and they really responded in the second half. We showed the kind of grit and desire that it takes to win tough games” said Ziemer.

A crucial moment in the game was goalkeeper Reinier Ter Riet’s huge penalty save about fifteen minutes into the second half. Reinier showed great athleticism as he made two great saves within seconds of each other. He first saved the penalty shot with his fingertips which led to the ball ricocheting off the post. He then got up and saved the rebound shot. This was one of the biggest moments of the game for the Seawolves as it kept the score tied.

“Rieniers penalty save was huge,” said head Coach Ziemer. “He read the shot correctly and got his fingertips on it to put it off the post and then made himself big for the follow up shot. That was definitely a key moment in the game.” 

As the second half continued the Seawolves maintained pressure and ultimately broke through in the seventy sixth minute of the game with a penalty kick goal. It was once again Vega that scored for the Seawolves as he stepped up to the box and buried the PK in the bottom left corner. This ultimately sealed the deal for the Seawolves as they won the game 2-1. 

“Ulysses Vega is on a mission and he’s been working a lot on his free kicks so it didn’t surprise me when he buried the first one. The penalty kick to win the game was definitely a pressure situation but he was calm and read the keeper’s movement and just put it in the back of the net.” 

The start of the 2022 season has had its highs and lows as the team has an overall record of 3-2-2. The competition has been tough for the Seawolves who have faced both NCAA and CCAA opponents. But coach Ziemer believes the team is headed in the right direction.

“I’m happy with our progress so far this season. Our defense has been solid and we are starting to create more chances in the attack and score more goals,” Coach Ziemer stated. “We are getting to the part of the season where we have two games a week so a lot of our focus is on keeping everybody healthy and ready to physically perform in games. We do a lot more tactical work, which isn’t as physically taxing, but prepares the players for the games”.