Dominican University of California’s men’s soccer team will play postseason soccer at home after clinching a berth in the PacWest Men’s Soccer Championships at Kennelly Field.
The Penguins finished as the fourth seed after a 3-0 win over Jessup on Oct. 31, finishing the regular season 6-6-4 overall and 5-3-1 in conference play. Dominican will host the four-team tournament, which runs Nov. 5-7 at the San Rafael campus.
Head coach David Frank’s squad opens against top-seeded Hawai'i Pacific (8-5-3, 6-2-1) at 11 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, Nov. 5, according to the PacWest tournament page. The second semifinal pits No. 2 Vanguard (7-7-2, 6-2-1) against No. 3 Westmont (8-7-5, 5-2-2) at 2 p.m. that same day. The championship match is set for noon Saturday, Nov. 7.
Two Dominican players rank among the PacWest’s top scorers. Sebastian Jaral leads the Penguins with eight goals and three assists for 19 points, tied for fourth in the conference in total points, according to PacWest statistics. Jake Kazlauskas has seven goals and five assists, also totaling 19 points. Kazlauskas is tied for second in the conference with five assists.
Jaral opened the scoring against Jessup in the 12th minute, finishing a chance created by Kazlauskas’ backheel pass. Julio Castro Altamirano doubled Dominican’s lead following a corner kick in the 25th minute, according to Jessup’s recap. Southern added the final goal in the 86th minute. Both Castro Altamirano and Southern scored their first goals of the season, according to Dominican’s recap and scoring summary.
Dominican outshot Jessup 24-13 and held a 10-4 edge in shots on target. Goalkeeper Colin Nestor made four saves before Kenton Gelis completed the combined shutout, according to Dominican Athletics. The game drew 173 fans.
All tournament matches will be streamed on the PacWest Network. Dominican faces Hawai'i Pacific at 11 a.m. Pacific time Nov. 5 at Kennelly Field.
