The Cal State East Bay men’s soccer team defeated the Holy Names University Hawks  5-0 on Aug. 22. This past Saturday they had their rematch and it was payback time for the Hawks.

From the beginning of the match it seemed like the Hawks had revenge in mind. The previous defeat pumped them up and it was evident as they took the lead 30 minutes into the match 1-0. However, the Pioneers managed to put a damper on the enthusiasm of Holy Names and bounced back to win the match 2-1.
“Despite the fact that the majority of our team are first year players, our goal is to be competing in the CCAA playoffs this year[,” CSUEB Head Coach Andy Cumbo said.

Just after the Pioneers started to regain control of the match, there was a minor setback. International student and junior defender Steffan Sauer suffered a sprained ankle after one of the Hawks stepped on his leg. The injury kept him out for the rest of the game.

The first half ended with the Hawks out in front 1-0, however the Pioneers created more chances to score in the second half. Holy Names forward Dominic Calderon drew a yellow card at the 75 minute mark which earned the Pioneers a free kick they capitalized on to tie the game at 1-1.

It was CSUEB sophomore midfielder Christian Gonzalez who took the free kick and freshman defender, Brett Fuchs managed to convert the assist into a goal that put smiles on the faces of his teammates. The Pioneers were not finished yet, within the next minute another opportunity to score was created by CSUEB sophomore forward Jeremy Romero. Romero passed the ball to freshman midfielder Marco Neves who made full use of the pass as he put it past the goalkeeper that gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead.

During the final moments of the game, Hawks forward Dominic Calderon attempted to kick a ball already secured by the CSUEB goalkeeper. The play forced the referee to hand Calderon his second yellow card of the match and ejected him from the contest.

“It is good to see my team start off strong with two victories in a row,” former Pioneer Christian Lara said.

The Pioneers take on Dominican University at 7 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Pioneer Stadium in the first game of the regular season.