SAN FRANCISCO – SF State rallied back twice from one-goal deficits to defeat the visiting Cal State East Bay Pioneers 3-2 in overtime this afternoon at Cox Stadium.
Kevin Johnson scored the golden goal off a ball from
Sam Merritt, 13 seconds into the first overtime period as the Gators improved to 5-1-2, 1-0-1 CCAA.
The Pioneers (3-4-1, 0-2 CCAA) took an early 1-0 lead when Adrian Maldonado connected on a corner kick by Rica Guerra in the 27
th minute.
SF State did not let its opponents keep that lead very long as in the 33
rd minute,
Emmanuel Serrano connected on his first goal of the season from 15 yards out to tie the match at 1-1.
The Gators had a chance to take the lead in the 35
th minute, but
Joe Rousseau's shot on goal attempt was stopped by the Pioneer's Steven Morgan.
Daniel Boyer recorded one of his two saves on the day in the final seconds of the first half when he stopped the Pioneers' Luigi Castillo from giving the guests the lead.
The second half saw 19 shot attempts including 14 by the Gators. SF State had a chance to take the lead but
Hayden Roberts' header in the 72
nd minute sailed wide left.
The Gators had another chance to take the lead be stopped by Morgan, this time off the foot of
Nick Harb in the 75
th minute.
Cal State East Bay retook the lead in the 85
th minute as Michael Tieku scored after the Gators could not clear the ball for his second goal of the season.
Once again, the Gators did not let their opponents hold on to their lead as
Jakob Velega connected on a cross from
Nathan Fernandez in the 87
th minute to tie the match at 2-2.
SF State had one final chance in the final minutes to claim the win, but
Sam Merritt's shot was blocked by the Pioneer defense to send the match into overtime.
In the first 13 seconds of the overtime,
Kevin Johnson connected on his second game-winning goal of the season and first golden goal on a breakaway off a ball from Merritt to give the Gators the 3-2 victory.
SF State outshot the Pioneers, 23-14 including 7-2 in shot on goal attempts. The Gators also held a 9-5 corner kick advantage.
The Gators will begin a four-match road trip this Friday, October 3 at 12:30pm in Seaside, Calif., for a CCAA match with Cal State Monterey Bay.
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