LOS ANGELES -- Cal State L.A.'s women's soccer team turned in one of its most impressive performances of the season and it came at just the right time.
The Golden Eagles got second-half goals from Amalia Arvidsson and Andrea Lammers and blanked No. 8 Sonoma State, 2-0, Friday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game at Jesse Owens Track. Cal State L.A. (12-1-1, 7-0 CCAA) increased its conference lead to six points over the second-place Seawolves (12-2, 5-2 CCAA) with the victory.
Cal State L.A., which moved into the NSCAA national rankings for the first this season this week at No. 16, was on top of its game on Friday. The Golden Eagles had a 17-7 advantage in shots and were able to possess the ball for much of the game. The Golden Eagles also had all six corner kicks in the game.
Even with a big advantage in possession for much of the game, Cal State L.A. was unable to crack Sonoma State's outstanding defense until the final 12 minutes of the game. The Seawolves did a masterful job of thwarting Cal State L.A. attacks until the Golden Eagles finally broke through for two tremendous goals in a 70-second span.
Arvidsson broke the scoreless tie with exactly 12 minutes remaining in the game thanks to a perfect pass from Lammers, who hit Arvidsson right in stride in the middle of the field. Arvidsson controlled the ball and drilled a shot just inside the post for her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Then, 70 seconds later, Heather Williams - who had an outstanding game - assisted Lammers for her second goal of the season. Williams battled around two Sonoma State defenders down the right sideline and sent in a cross to the box where Lammers rose up and headed the ball into the corner of the net.
Cal State L.A.'s defense took it from there and preserved its ninth shutout of the season and fifth straight. Yi Du made one save for the Golden Eagles, while Sonoma State's Ashley Luis made eight saves.
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Sunday with its final home game of the season against Humboldt State at 11:30 a.m. The Golden Eagles will honor their 12 seniors - Yi Du, Norie Pablo, Andrea Lammers, Alicia Gutierrez, Shea Richards, Candice Holt, Justine Telles, Amalia Arvidsson, Heather Williams, Alexa Zielinski, Monique Cherry, and Joleen Galeazzi-Pimentel - in pre-game ceremonies expected to begin at 11:15 a.m.
