MERCED, Calif. – Cal State East Bay men's soccer battled to another draw on Sunday afternoon, earning a point with a 2-2 tie at UC Merced. The teams combined for four second half goals to give the Pioneers a pair of ties to open the CCAA season. With the result, East Bay moved to 2-3-3 overall.
The first half saw few clear chances, as both teams fought for control in the midfield. Goalkeeper Adan Corona made three important stops to keep the match scoreless through 45 minutes. The Pioneers managed five shots before halftime, highlighted by efforts from Jonas Banouas and Julian Valle, but were unable to break through against Bobcat keeper Angel Joaquin.
UC Merced struck first in the 57th minute when Jose Ontiveros netted the first goal of the match to make it 1-0. The Pioneers responded just three minutes later. Franco De Luna delivered a perfectly placed ball into the box on a free kick, where James Garlick headed home his first goal of the season to tie the match at 1-1.
The Pioneers took the lead in the 65th minute after a UC Merced foul in the box led to a penalty. Yuto Hatayama stepped to the spot and calmly converted the kick, giving East Bay a 2-1 advantage with just over 25 minutes to play.
UC Merced pressed for an equalizer and found it in the 83rd minute, when Ontiveros struck again off another feed from Perkins. Despite several chances for both sides in the closing minutes, neither could find the game-winner.
East Bay tallied 15 total shots, six of which were onn goal, compared to 12 for UC Merced while Corona finished with four saves in goal.
Cal State East Bay is back in action next week when they head on the road for matches against Cal Poly Humboldt on Friday and Cal State San Marcos on Sunday.
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