HAYWARD -- Cal State L.A.'s women's soccer team was in no mood to share Sunday and the Golden Eagles made sure they had the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship all to themselves.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up sole possession of the conference title with a 4-0 win over Cal State East Bay in Hayward. Cal State L.A. (14-1-2, 9-0-1 CCAA) has 28 points and maintained a six-point edge over second-place Chico State with one conference match remaining. The Golden Eagles, ranked seventh in the nation and No. 2 in the West Region, have earned a first-round bye in the six-team CCAA Championship Tournament after claiming their first CCAA title since 2009.
Heather Williams had a goal and an assist and was instrumental in a third goal on Sunday, while
Andrea Lammers,
Amalia Arvidsson and
Sahar Arghandiwal also scored goals.
Yi Du only needed to make one save for the Golden Eagles' eighth straight shutout and 12th of the season, but it was a huge one. She saved a penalty kick attempt by Cal State East Bay's Ariana Gordon in the 85th minute to preserve the shutout. Du made four saves over the weekend in back-to-back shutouts and two were sensational. One came in the final minute of the second overtime on a point-blank shot by Cal State Stanislaus and the other came on the penalty kick on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles scored two goals in each half while stretching their unbeaten string to 11 games.
Williams gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead with a penalty kick goal in the 12th minute. It was her fifth goal of the season.
Williams then helped set up the Golden Eagles' second goal in the final minute of the first half. She took an initial shot that hit the crossbar.
Victoria Arredondo got the rebound and her shot went off the crossbar before Lammers headed it into the goal for her fourth goal of the season. Arredondo picked up the assist.
That's how the score remained until the 75th minute when Williams found Arvidsson with a through pass that left the Golden Eagles' leading goal scorer alone against the Cal State East Bay goalkeeper. Arvidsson took the shot from just outside the penalty kick spot and recorded her 10th goal of the season.
Arghandiwal made it 4-0 with her second goal of the season with an assist from
Joleen Galeazzi-Pimentel.
Then Du made her shutout-saving save on Gordon's penalty kick and the Golden Eagles celebrated their CCAA title a few minutes later.
Cal State L.A. had a 18-9 advantage in shots, including a 12-2 edge in the opening half. Both teams had three corner kicks.
Cal State L.A. will conclude the regular season on Thursday with a road game at Cal Poly Pomona.
