The rising No. 5 Wildcats extend their record to 6-0 keeping them undefeated after beating Dominican 3-0 on Saturday night.
The Wildcats offense was quiet throughout most of the first half. It wasn’t until sophomore Carson Zarate netted a goal assisted by senior Adrian Fontanelli late in the first half that gave the Wildcats the lead.
“As I headered it, I didn’t even know what was going on and next thing you know it was in the goal,” Zarate said. “I think that definitely gave us momentum going into the second half.”
After Zarate’s goal, Chico State had a lot of momentum going into the second half. They were able to score two goals early in the second half within two minutes of each other. The first of the two was scored by freshman Sylas Sills netting his first goal of the season.
“It felt surreal, I’m just trying to get comfortable with the team and have fun while making a name for myself,” said Sills.
The second goal that came two minutes later was scored by senior Noah Ross and assisted by Sills. This goal sealed the victory for Chico State by giving them a 3-0 lead.
“Coach is always preaching to get on the back post and saying we will score a lot of goals that way,” Ross said. “I Just wanted to make sure I had the header on target and sure enough it was.”
The Wildcats defense has still continued to be dominant this season not allowing a single goal yet this season. Though the Wildcats scored two goals early in the second half leaving a lot of time left for Dominican to score, their defense held on the rest of the game earning them their sixth clean sheet this season.
Junior goalkeeper Emmanuel Padilla has been a major key to the team’s defense. The California Collegiate Athletic Association announced Padilla being the defensive player of the week. Padilla faced four shots against Dominican on Saturday with two saves.. He has a total of 21 saves this season.
The Wildcats have had a variety of players contribute to their wins this season. The Wildcats are facing the Stanislaus State Warriors on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at University Soccer Stadium. The Warriors have a current record of 2-3 this season. Their most recent game was against Hawaii Pacific University on Saturday which they won 3-2. Chico State hopes to keep this momentum moving forward.
You can watch Chico State’s next game on Saturday vs. Stanislaus State here
For more information about Chico State Athletics, you can visit the Wildcats homepage.
Nick Sanders can be reached at [email protected]
