SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's soccer team (3-4-3, 2-1-0 CCAA) picked up a 5-3 victory in its CCAA home opener against Cal State East Bay (3-4-3, 1-1-2 CCAA) on Sunday at The Cage.
 
GOALS
CSUSM – 13' David Ruiz (Assisted by Blake Haseyama)
CSUSM – 17' Justin Carreon (Penalty Kick)
CSUSM – 63' Cisco Avila (Unassisted)
CSUSM – 73' Efren Nunez Dominguez (Penalty Kick)
EB – 78' Yuto Hatayama (Assisted by Kiichi Murakami & Alejandro Zarate)
EB – 79' Alexis Villanueva Zavala (Assisted by Kiichi Murakami & Yuto Hatayama)
EB – 82' Franco De Luna (Assisted by Alejandro Zarate & Eugenio Perez-Vera Merino)
CSUSM – 89' Cisco Avila (Unassisted)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars got on the board first in the 13th minute. After Blake Haseyama dribbled past defenders and up the field into the box, Haseyama made a short pass to David Ruiz, who immediately put a low shot into the center of the net from just left of the penalty kick marker to make it a 1-0 game.
• A Pioneer foul in the box allowed Justin Carreon to put a penalty kick shot into the left side of the net and give the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the 17th minute.
• The Cougars went up 3-0 in the 63rd minute. Cisco Avila intercepted a pass from the Pioneer keeper on the right side of the box before dribbling past a defender and placing a shot into the center of the goal.
• Another East Bay foul in the box set up another penalty kick for CSUSM in the 73rd minute. Efren Nunez Dominguez then put the shot into the top right corner of the goal to put the Cougars up by four.
• Not looking to get shut out, the Pioneers began to show life in the 78th minute as Kiichi Murakami fed from the left side to the center of the field to Alejandro Zarate, who took a few dribbles before passing into the middle of the box to Yuto Hatayama. After dancing around a defender, Hatayama put a shot into the left side of the net from eight yards out to give East Bay its first goal.
• Just a minute later in the 79th minute, Murakami passed to Hatayama outside the top right corner of the box before sending another pass to his right to Alexis Villanueva Zavala, who took a shot from outside the top right corner before it rolled into the bottom right corner of the goal to cut the Pioneer deficit to 4-2.
• East Bay made it a one-goal game in the 82nd minute. A midfield pass from Eugenio Perez-Vera Merino to Zarate was then sent into the box. Franco De Luna put a header from just right of the penalty marker into the right side of the net to trim CSUSM's lead to 4-3.
• Avila took possession of a deflection midway in East Bay territory before driving into the left side of the box. Avila then put a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal past a diving Pioneer keeper and put the game out of reach at 5-3 with just over a minute to play.

 
QUICK KICKS

• Efren Nunez Dominguez now has a team-high five goals for the season, while David Ruiz sits at four. Avila's two goals put him at three for the season, and Carreon's goal was his second.
• Haseyama's assist was his second of the year.
• East Bay led the game in shots (17-12) and shots on goal (9-8), but CSUSM had more corner kicks (6-5).
• CSUSM's win broke a streak of three consecutive draws against EB.
• The Cougars' five goals were the most by either team in the all-time series against the Pioneers.
• CSUSM is now 5-3-4 against East Bay and is 3-2-1 when playing the Pioneers at home.
• The Cougars last scored five goals in a game against San Francisco State in 2023.
• CSUSM ends the weekend fourth in the CCAA standings with six points.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will travel to Cal State Monterey Bay (3-4-2, 0-2-2 CCAA) for a 4:30 p.m. match on Friday.