The San Francisco State University men’s soccer team traveled to California State University, East Bay’s Pioneer Stadium and left with a 0-0 tie against the Pioneers.

The sun shined brightly as it set on Oct. 17 at Pioneer Stadium. Both teams had their huddles on the green-striped field of the stadium, which was surrounded by bleachers on one side and steep hills and stairs.

The Gators entered the game against East Bay with a 9-1 record in their last 10 matchups against their cross-bay rivals.

Gators defender Adrian Vasquez said each matchup between these two always brings anticipation and excitement. He compared the matchup to the baseball rivalry of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

“It’s always a fun game to play against East Bay,” Vasquez said.

Gators head coach Sebastian Carrasco said that coming into the match, the team was looking to close the windows on the Pioneers’ ability to create plays.

“The strategy was to close all the channel connections that they have, the subsidies they have on the game,” Carrasco said.

Vasquez also said that the team’s first focus was to put aggressive, pressuring defense on their opponents.

“We were more focused on scoring goals and just switching from one side to the other,” Vasquez said. “Our main part of our game is defense so we take pride in that. We just always try to control everything.”

Four minutes into the first half, Pioneers defender Niek de Jong passed the ball to forward George Binda from Binda’s right. Binda’s shot was the first scoring opportunity for the Pioneers but went wide of the net. The opportunity came after Vasquez tried to kick the ball out of the defensive zone but it was intercepted by the other team.

16 minutes into the first half, a free kick was given to Pioneers defender Andres Garcia-Diaz, who produced a curling shot toward the Gators’ net. Fortunately for the Gators, the ball was caught by their goalkeeper, Hayden Frost.

The first scoring chance for the Gators came 22 minutes into the first half when forward Isaac Sandoval received a pass from midfielder Issay Bravo and shot the ball, but it went left of the net.

Two setup chances for the Pioneers happened around the 26-minute range of the first half, but both of them were canceled by a defensive effort by the Gators and Frost.

The Pioneers had another chance to score at 28 minutes with a shot by midfielder Alan Gutierrez that went wide of the net. The crowd was halfway through their cheers and stood up before they realized the ball didn’t go into the net.

A chance arrived for Pioneer forward Aaron Farnan who realized Vasquez was coming his way, to which the determined Gator defender slid to knock the ball away. This defensive effort happened 31 minutes into the game.

Vasquez said his contribution to the team’s defensive efforts comes from his motivation to overachieve and understands there’s room for him to grow as an athlete.

“I’m always a hard critic on myself, so I always feel the need to do more,” Vasquez said. “Defending-wise, I think I did okay but just got to do the things that I can work on most and just passing the ball. There’s always room for improvement on my game.”

Both teams had no shot on goal throughout the first half of the game. The Pioneers had more shot attempts than the Gators (3-1) and both sides had 0 saves.

Carrasco said the team’s ability to carry their built-up momentum into the second half comes from their consistent tough mentality.

“They’re strong and they’re fighting so hard because they know they deserve three points,” Carrasco said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it, but they know they cannot give up and they have to always look for the W.”

The first chance for the Gators in the second half happened six minutes in. Gators midfielder Michael Rodriguez attempted a windmill kick shot attempt, but the ball went wide left of the net.

After this, the Pioneers went across the field to create their first chance of the half. Farnan received a pass and attempted to redirect the ball toward the goal, but the ball rolled along the outside of the net.

A free kick was awarded to the Pioneers 67 minutes into the game. Defender Andres Garcia-Diaz took a shot attempt that glazed the left side of the net while Frost leaped off of his feet for the ball.

A minute later, a pass from Garcia-Diaz to Pioneers defender Eugenio Perez-Vera Merino led to the Pioneers’ sixth scoring chance of the match, but the ball went high over the net.

Pioneers midfielder Pablo Almontes attempted a header on goal that missed wide right of the net with 17 minutes left in the second half.

Intensity and frustration built up as the final minutes of the game counted down and each little mistake would feel costly for both teams. The clock counted the final seconds of the game, in which Frost caught the ball and stayed with it until the end.

“We really wanted to focus on moving forward and we wanted to get rid of consistency,” Frost said. “Coaches were saying in previous games, we were due for one mistake that gave them a goal and just breaking off that consistency and we broke that. We didn’t give them any easy chances and we were consistent throughout the whole game.”

Carrasco said the team performed outstanding on defense and added that it forced the Pioneers out of their comfort zone.

“I think defensively we did very well,” Carrasco said. “They can’t find the spaces. We clearly read how they play and where they put emphasis on throughout the game. We forced them to play in areas where they don’t want to play and where they feel uncomfortable. So defensively, I think the boys did a great job.”

Frost echoed Carrasco’s thoughts and said the team was able to prevent the Pioneers from scoring left and right throughout the game.

“I thought we played good as a collective, as a team,” Frost said. “We had the opportunities and they were really solid at the back, too. I think the opportunities for chances, shots, it was kinda fluffed out. I think we played well. We still got a point. We got our first shutout, especially on the road.”

Carrasco has experienced matchups against the Pioneers during his time as assistant coach of the Gators. This year, Carrasco said this Pioneer team under a new coach has a whole new look compared to the previous years.

“Mike [Michael Haswell] is doing a great job with this team,” Carrasco said. “He changed the culture, the philosophy in these games. These guys try to play good soccer and they reflect it on the field, so that’s why it was a very tough game for us today.”

Carrasco said he’s also proud of his team for representing SFSU and always fighting till the last second of each game.

“I think that in some moments, we drop the line too much and we have to go a little bit higher, so we’re going to work on that,” Carrasco said.

The Gators will return to Cox Stadium to host the Cougars from California State University, San Marcos on Oct. 20.