LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's soccer team finally put an end to a frustrating winless streak and punched its ticket to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament in the process.

 

The Golden Eagles got first-half goals from John Massaquoi and Jason Swope and beat San Francisco State, 2-1, Friday night at Jesse Owens Track. Cal State L.A. (10-5-3, 8-3-1) snapped a four-match winless streak with the win and wrapped up the No. 3 seed in next week's four-team conference tourney. The Golden Eagles, who also clinched second place in the CCAA South Division, will face No. 2 seed and South Division champion Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round.

 

Cal State L.A. owned a 17-8 advantage in shots and had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Noe David, in his second straight start in goal for the Golden Eagles, made five saves. San Francisco State goalie Erza Mendoza made four saves.

 

The Golden Eagles struck quickly on Friday and, in fact, all three of the game's goals were scored in the first 29 minutes of the contest.

 

John Massaquoi broke through in the 15^th minute for the Golden Eagles to give Cal State L.A. a 1-0 lead. David Mora sent a pass to Spencer Tripp, who was racing down the left sideline. Tripp then centered the ball into the box, where Massquoi was able to tap the ball into the right corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season.

 

The Gators (7-11-2, 4-9-1) began pressuring the Golden Eagles after allowing the goal and Noe made a good save of a strong scoring effort by Franco Cruz off a long throw-in into the box.

 

San Francisco State then got the equalizer in the 18^th minute. Spencer Schwandt's corner kick found Benno Nagel in the box and his pass was headed into the goal by Matt Pederson.

 

Mendoza made a diving save to thwart another Massaquoi bid and Noe made a big save on an outstanding chance by Casey Poston after a nice pass from Schwandt.

 

The Golden Eagles got the go-ahead goal in the 29^th minute when a cross from A.J. Matthews was headed into the goal by Swope.

 

Cal State L.A., which had a 12-4 edge in shots in the first half, held just a 5-4 advantage in the second half.

 

The Golden Eagles will play their final home game of the season on Sunday and honor seniors Morten Marthinsen, Patrick Thurston and Beville Constantine. Cal State L.A. will conclude its regular season on Monday at Cal State San Bernardino on Monday.