ALAMEDA, Calif. —Alejandro Zarate scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner as the Cal State East Bay men's soccer team earned a statement 3–2 victory over No. 15 Cal State LA. The victory was the first in program history over the Golden Eagles and improved the Pioneers to 4-4-3 overall and 2-1-2 in CCAA play.
East Bay wasted no time setting the tone. In the 4th minute, Zarate opened the scoring by connecting on a strike from outside of the box that curved inside the far post. The shot came off a feed from Jonas Banouas, putting the Pioneers up 1–0. Cal State LA equalized minutes later but the Pioneers quickly regained control when Kiichi Murakami buried a cross from Andres Garcia-Diaz in the 19th minute to make it 2–1.
In the second half, Cal State LA was awarded a penalty in the 68th minute, which Andreas Christou converted to even the score at 2–2. The Pioneers answered once again, as Zarate found the back of the net for his second goal of the day in the 74th minute, finishing off a pass from Julian Valle to put East Bay ahead for good.
The Pioneers' defense did the rest and goalkeeper Adan Corona came up with several crucial stops, tallying four saves to preserve the win.
Zarate led the way with two goals, adding to his team leading total and giving him six on the season. East Bay finished with 11 total shots — seven on goal — compared to 13 shots from Cal State LA.
The victory marks one of the biggest wins of the season for Cal State East Bay, who currently sit in fourth place with eight points in CCAA play. The Pioneers are back in action on Sunday when they host Cal State Monterey Bay at Chabot College in Hayward.
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