It was certainly two completely different halves of soccer action at Warrior Stadium on Sunday. The Cal State Stanislaus men's soccer team rallied from being down 3-0 with four second half goals to beat Sonoma State, 4-3.
Jose Velazquez scored twice, including the equalizer, and assisted on a goal to lead the Warriors all the way back for the crucial victory. With the win, Cal State Stanislaus stays in the tight four-team race atop of the California Collegiate Athletic Association North Division standings.
First-place Sonoma State's lead is just now one point after Sunday with Chico State winning 2-0 over Humboldt State. SSU (6-4, 5-3 CCAA) has 15 points and Chico State 14. The Warriors (6-3-1, 4-3-1 CCAA) and Cal State Monterey Bay are tied for third with 13 points.
Sonoma State jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Three minutes into the second half, Paul Oei, a recent Denair High graduate, got the Warriors on board with a 20-yard blast - his first college goal - from the far side, thanks to an assist from Julian O'Dell.
After back-to-back scores from Velazquez in the 53rd and 78th minutes, Daiel Kuczynski came off bench to deliver the game-winner in the 85th minute. Kuczynski collected a Nolan Holdridge throw-in in front of the goalkeeper and knocked it in.