Sonoma Tops Southern Methodist
(Photo by Brian Baer)
RENO, Nev. -- Sonoma State picked up a neutral site win on Sunday afternoon by downing Southern Methodist, 18-8.
Led by Jackson Feinstein and Andrew Moore in goal and Joey Piombo on offense, the Seawolves started fast and never looked back.
The cooler temperatures and altitude of Reno provided both teams with some challenges. From the opening faceoff, the Seawolves offense was clicking, scoring on its first three possessions.
The rest of the quarter was all Sonoma, as the Seawolves ended the first quarter up, 8-3.
Both teams settled down to start the second quarter as the defense started to take over. Some big saves from Moore kept the Mustangs off the board for the most part as Sonoma took a comfortable, 11-4 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was more Sonoma, as the Seawolves scored another three goals to lead 14-5 heading into the final frame. The Seawolves expanded their lead with Feinstein getting his chance to shine in the cage, resulting in the 18-8 final.
"The team rebounded in a big way with this victory," said Sonoma State coach Panchito Ojeda. "SMU is a tough team who battled hard every minute of the game. I'm looking forward to seeing us back on the practice field this week preparing for the gauntlet in San Diego."
Piombo led the offense with six goals, but there was big contributions from Trent Jones (2g, 3a), Spencer O'Reilly (4g, 1a), and Chase Barloga (2g, 2a).
Sonoma was led at the faceoff X by Philipe Devaranne, who started the game 5-for-5 on draws. Defensively, Moore (4 GA, 4 saves) and Feinstein (4 GA, 9 saves) held down the fort.