It wasn’t the result the Israel Cisneros wanted, but he did his part.

After being honored for Senior Day along with fellow senior Jake Beverlin, Cisneros recorded a few crucial saves to keep the Gators in the game against rival Sonoma State.

But it wasn’t enough as No. 13 Sonoma State captured the 2-1 victory at Cox Stadium this afternoon.

SF State finished their conference schedule with the 2-1 win in the final home game of the season. The Gator finished with a 5-3-2 at home this season and dropped a game below .500 with the loss on Sunday.

Red hot Sonoma picked up right where they started after stomping CSU Monterey Bay 6-0 on Friday and showed the Gator why they are one of the best teams in the conference.

Right out of the gate the Seawolves were aggressive and managed to take an early lead only 13 minutes into the game when Nathan Medina booted a shot in the top right corner for the 1-0 lead.

About ten minutes later the Seawolves struck again when Andrew Bailey headed a cross from Eric Lafon for the two nil lead.

“We opened up too early. Poor mistakes in the beginning allowed those two goals. I’m glad with the way we fought back. Got back in the game, but their going to be a difficult team to get after,” said head coach Joe Hunter.

Only two minutes later the Gators responded after Dylan Glass earned a penalty kick after being tackled by Sonoma’s keeper in the box.

Spencer Schwandt netted the penalty shot to bring SF State closer with a 2-1 deficit.

While the scoring was early and often Sonoma controlled play for much of the game with consistent offensive pressure keeping the Gators away from what they wanted to do offensively.

SF State also showed their youth with their inability to control the ball and connect on passes when the game got faster.

“We’ve got to get sharper. You want to emulate the best team. Yeah there’s a rivalry, but you got to respect the way they play. And that’s what were building towards,” said Hunter.

With the Sonoma offense clicking on all cylinders it proved too to be much pressure for the Gator defense as Sonoma players got behind them all game and got what they wanted on offense.

Except another goal, of course.

“I thought whoever scored next was going to win the game,” said Hunter.

Cisneros had a couple of saves near the end of the game in particular a diving save to his left with 17 minutes left in the game that should have ended SF State’s bid at an upset.

“Israel was amazing today. He kept us in the game,” said Glass.

Cisneros finished with six saves in his home finale.

The Gators had a couple chances for the equalizer, but Sonoma’s defense was too stingy and the Gators couldn’t get a good look at goal at the end.

The Gators finish the 2008 season on Wednesday in a non-conference game against Notre Dame da Namur in Belmont at 3 p.m.