Box Score It’s cliché to say: “it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.” But Rey Suarez and the Cal State East Bay men’s soccer team reminded everyone at Chico State’s University Soccer Stadium that it’s also true Sunday. Suarez’s 20-yard shot settled into the net a second before the horn sounded and the Wildcats and Pioneers played two overtimes to a 1-1 draw.
Timo Baeuerle played a desperation ball into the box as the clock wound down but an attempted clearance by a Wildcats defender came out to Suarez, who hit a left-footer perfectly into the left upper-V.
“I already had the shot figured out in my mind. I was just hoping for someone to drop it back,” said Suarez. “Luckily, the defender hit it right to me. I hit it just where I wanted. With the time running down I had no other option but to hit it with my left foot.”
The referees gathered before deciding that the goal was good.
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Chico State started with a flurry and Akwafei Ajeakwa’s header inside the near post off Octavio Guzman’s corner kick – already the Wildcats’ fourth dangerous shot – gave them a 1-0 lead 2:37 into the match.
Despite finishing with a 28-11 edge in shots, Chico State was unable to add to its lead.
The Wildcats took seven shots in the final 10 minutes (the second overtime period) alone, but were forced to settle for the tie, ending a seven-match winning streak against Cal State East Bay.
Chico State, now 16-1-2 in its last 19 meetings with the Pioneers, is 3-2-1 on the season and 2-1-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State East Bay is 1-2-2 overall and 0-1-2 in the CCAA after a strong weekend in which it tied both Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State on the road.
Luis Martinez finished with eight shots alone for the Wildcats and must be wondering how he came up empty on the day. His blast from 10 yards in the second minute of the match was saved nicely by Pioneers’ keeper Bryce Bookhammer, who had the ball skip off his upper body and over the bar. A defender saved Martinez’s shot off the line with 12 minutes left in the first half. He hit the post after a nice setup by Kramer Runager in the 51st minute. And his try toward the near post was pushed just wide by Bookhammer with six minutes left in the second overtime.
Bookhammer finished with three saves, and Renee Martinez, who played the second half in goal for the Pioneers, notched three as well.
Wildcats keeper Sam Evans, who made five saves, saved the game for the Wildcats in the 96th minute, somehow getting in the way of Felix Jaekel’s point-blank look in the 96th minute.
Ajeakwa’s goal was his team-leading third of the season.
The Wildcats will hit the road for the first time in 2012 next Friday when they face rival and CCAA North Division leader Sonoma State (5-1, 4-0 CCAA) at 3 p.m. in Rohnert Park.
