Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's soccer team saw its hopes for a fifth straight trip to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament take a big hit Friday night.
The Golden Eagles were beaten for the second time this season by Cal State San Bernardino, this time by a 2-0 count at Jesse Owens Stadium in the Billie Jean King Sports Complex. Cal State L.A. (9-6-1, 8-6-1) also lost the first meeting between the two schools, 2-0, in San Bernardino.
The Coyotes (13-3-1, 11-3-1) clinched the California Collegiate Athletic Association South Division championship with the victory and were not shy about celebrating on the Golden Eagles' field afterward.
Cal State L.A., which won the CCAA South Division last season, now needs some help to get into the conference tournament. The Golden Eagles need a win over Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday and a loss by Sonoma State at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Cal State San Bernardino's Obi Agwu scored on a free kick just outside the penalty box in the first half and Juan Galarza got the game-clinching goal in the 79th minute when he knocked home a rebound.
Along the way, Cal State San Bernardino got some outstanding goalkeeping from Tanner Olinger, who made a diving stop on a penalty kick attempt by
David Hauser and then got some help when
Gonzalo Pulgar kicked the rebound off the post and a second attempt sailed over the goal.
Cal State L.A. had a 15-11 edge in shots and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks, but still could not score. The Golden Eagles also had a pair of shots cleared off the line before going in. Olinger made five saves for the Coyotes, while
Thaddeus Caraway made three saves for the Golden Eagles.
Agwu opened the scoring when he notched his 12th goal of the season. After a teammate was fouled, Agwu took the direct kick and his blast went off the post and nestled into the net inside the far post.
The Golden Eagles just missed getting the equalizer in the 40th minute when Brennan Brodersen's header sailed just wide. Agwu had a late chance for the Coyotes, but another free kick from a greater distance deflected off the outside of the post and sailed away.
Cal State L.A. had three outstanding chances in the opening stages of the second half, but came up empty. The first came when
Tony Hernandez sent in a perfect pass to Pulgar, whose scoring bid was just deflected away by Olinger. The second came when
Julian Ringhof got a header shot off a corner kick from Hauser that beat Olinger, only to see a Coyote defender keep the ball from going in the goal.
The third came when a Cal State San Bernardino defender was called for a hand ball in the box and Hauser rifled the penalty kick. Olinger made a diving stop and Pulgar's rebound went off the post with about 27 minutes to go.
The Coyotes made it 2-0 when a shot by Corey Hostetter was cleared away by a Cal State L.A. defender, but Galarza got to the rebound and knocked it home with just 11:45 remaining.
Cal State L.A. will conclude its regular season on Sunday with a home match against Cal Poly Pomona.
