SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's soccer team used a flurry of second-half scoring to notch a 3-1 non-conference victory over visiting Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon at Cox Stadium.
- SF State moves to 2-2-2 while Sonoma State moves to 3-2-2. Saturday's contest was a non-conference matchup.
- Gustavo Ferrari scored two of the Gators' three goals and now has four on the season.
- The Gators outshot the Seawolves 8-6, including 6-2 shots on goal.
- SF State also dominated with a 10-2 corner kick advantage. The 10 corner kicks are the most by the Gators since notching a dozen in a 1-1 draw on September 16, 2018 at then-Humboldt State.
- The match was a physical one with the two teams combining for 20 fouls and eight cards. SSU's Federico Barbieri received two yellow cards, resulting in a red card, meaning that he'll have to miss the Seawolves' conference opener next Friday versus Chico State.
The two teams played to a scoreless half. The Gators suffocated the Seawolves in the first half and allowed only a single shot in the 28th minute that went out left. Ferrari attempted all three of the Gators' first-half shots, two of which were saved. Ferrari wasted little time in the second half though. In the 50th minute, Denis Vezina drew a foul near the top of the box and Ferrari sent the free kick over the goalkeeper's head.
SF State doubled the lead in the 54th minute when
Evan Bjerke played a ball through the attacking midfield ahead to a streaking
Emerson Trujillo, who fired on the run from near the penalty spot.
Ferrari earned his first brace of the season with an athletic showing in the 73rd minute. Trujllo took a ball near the top of the box that sent his defender tripping to the ground, then dished to Ferrari. The Seattle native flicked the ball up as he leapt over a sliding defender, then fired a shot off of the crossbar and in.
The Seawolves drew a penalty with 32 seconds remaining and Jose Rios Lara helped Sonoma State avoid the shutout by converting the penalty kick.
Cooper Matthies (1-0-1) earned his first collegiate win. The freshman made one save and had a shutout going until the final thirty seconds when the Seawolves scored on a penalty kick. Reinier tet Riet (3-2-2) made three saves in the loss.
"Great team win for today. Sonoma State is a very strong team and it was a great test for us as we approach the beginning of conference play. The team executed well in all facets of the game, from our back line to our front line, as well as dominating on set pieces. We know we've been playing some great soccer recently and it felt good for the result to reflect that today," said Head Coach Pedro Osório. "Individuals across the board were tremendous today but it especially felt good for Cooper to notch his first win, stepping in for Matias, who is dealing with an injury; and a phenomenal game from Julio in the midfield and DiAngelo stepping in as a sub made a tremendous impact to the game. Overall, just a great team win and we look forward to carrying that momentum into the start of conference play."
SF State begins CCAA action next week with a pair of home matches versus Cal Poly Humboldt on Friday, Septemberr 23 at 12:30 p.m. and Chico State on Saturday, September 25 at 11:30 a.m. Both matches will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Tickets are available at sfstategators.com/tickets. Updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstate_msoc.
