The Chico State men's soccer team struck early and often to beat Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-1 Sunday afternoon, and in the process, earned its third win against a team ranked among the nation's top 20.
 

True Freshman Garrett Hogbin hammered home Carter Johnson's deflected cross 38 seconds into the match and the Wildcats never trailed against the 20^th-ranked Toros. Omar Nuño assisted on goals by Rajaee DeLane and Frankie Palmer, both of which stretched Chico State's lead to two goals.
 
Chico State, which went 3-1-0 over the last two weekends against teams in one of the top two spots in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) table, improved to 4-5-3 overall and 3-3-2 in the CCAA. Cal State Dominguez Hills fell to 7-4-1 overall and 4-2-0 in the CCAA.
 
Hogbin's first collegiate goal came after Dylan Wakefield drew a corner kick 23 seconds in. Palmer's corner kick pinballed around the box before Johnson corralled it near where the edge of the 18-yard box meets the endline. He smashed a cross into traffic that deflected off a Toros defender and bounced out toward the top of the box where Hogbin was ready to clean it up.
 
The Wildcats made it 2-0 a little less than 10 minutes later. Nuño pounced on a turnover in the Toros' end and quickly played the ball outside to Alex Fluitt, who had checked into the match just a minute prior. Fluitt smacked a cross across the top of the six-yard box, and after a blanketed Frankie Palmer let it roll by him, Rajaee DeLane buried it at the far post.
 
Already trailing 2-0, the Toros took another hit in the 24^th minute when leading scorer Joey Chica received a red card for clipping diving Wildcats goalie Damion Lewis in the face with his boot.
 

After regrouping during halftime, however, the Toros showed life. And after drawing a foul just outside the top of the box benefited from a break as well. Perhaps distracted by some last-second confusion with his three-man wall, goalkeeper Luke Dennison allowed the curving shot around the wall to bounce through his legs and in, cutting the lead in half with about 33 minutes to play.
 
But Palmer and Nuño put the match away in the 73^rd minute.
 
Palmer ran down a loose ball near midfield and one-timed it ahead for Nuño to start the counter attack. Nuño surveyed the scene and gave Palmer time to loop behind him and into the open left vacant to his right by DeLane's run. Nuño's pass hit Palmer in stride. He took two quick touches to settle the ball and then smashed one inside the near post from 12 yards for his first goal of the season.
 
The Wildcats, who began conference play with four straight conference matches on the back end of a six-match road swing, hit the road for the final time in the regular season next weekend. They are at Stanislaus State Friday at 4:30 and Cal State East Bay Sunday at 2.