POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

TURLOCK -- Cal State L.A.'s women's soccer team left nothing to chance Friday in a semi-final match of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament.

The top-seeded Golden Eagles got a hat trick from leading scorer Amalia Arvidsson and another outstanding effort by their defense to post a 3-0 victory over No. 4-seed Sonoma State at Warrior Stadium. Cal State L.A. (15-1-3) advances to Sunday's championship match against No. 2 seed Chico State at 12:30 p.m. The Wildcats advanced with a 1-0 double-overtime win over Cal Poly Pomona.

Cal State L.A., ranked sixth in the nation and No. 2 in the NCAA Division II West Region, stretched its unbeaten streak to 13 games and posted its 13th shutout of the season. The 13 shutouts are a new program single-season record. Yi Du made three saves, including a spectacular sequence in the second half, to earn the shutout.

The Golden Eagles, the regular-season CCAA champions, won a CCAA tournament game for the first time since 2010 when they beat Cal State Stanislaus, 2-1, in double overtime. Cal State L.A. is seeking its first CCAA tournament title since 2009.

Arvidsson, meanwhile, scored all three goals on Friday and increased her conference-leading total to 14. She recorded the first hat track for the Golden Eagles since Liz Franco in 2010. Her hat track was the first in a tournament game since Franco in the 2009 championship game against Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2009.

The 14 goals also tie the single-season program record currently held by Liz Franco and AnnMarie Tangorra, both in 2010.

In fact, Arvidsson had a pair of strong chances early in the game before getting the game's first goal in the 29th minute. Her first opportunity came in the opening moments of the game when she broke free on a breakaway and sent a shot just wide of the goal. A few minutes later, she ripped a shot toward the far post that Sonoma State goalkeeper Ashley Luis made a nice diving save to keep out.

In the 29th minute, though, Arvidsson received a perfect pass from Shea Richards and shot inside the far post for her 12th goal of the season. Heather Williams started the play with a clearance on Cal State L.A.'s side of the field and got the ball to Richards, who quickly got the ball to Arvidsson, who broke free behind the Sonoma State defense.

Cal State L.A. held a 1-0 halftime lead and then really put on the pressure early in the second half. Candice Holt had a good look in the 49th minute, but her shot hit the post and stayed out.

Veronika Steen set up Arvidsson's second goal in the 50th minute, sending in a long pass from near midfield. Once again, Arvidsson beat the defenders to the ball and drilled a shot past Luis and in for her 13th goal of the season. Then, less than two minutes later, Holt sent in a pass to Arvidsson after a nice give-and-go and Arvidsson notched her third goal of the game.

Sonoma State generated some good pressure a few minutes later, but Du was up to the task. First, a shot from Lauren Curtin hit the post and, later, after a pair of blocked shots in the box, Du was able to make an amazing stop of a Margi Osmundson shot and keep it out of the goal in the 65th minute. Cal State L.A.'s defense, led by All-Conference backs Justine Telles and Alicia Gutierrez, took it from there.

Sonoma State had a 16-14 edge in shots, while Cal State L.A. had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Arvidsson had a match-high five shots, while Andrea Lammers had three shots and Williams had two shots.

Cal State L.A. will now set its sights on its fourth title game appearance. The Golden Eagles won the title in 2009 and fell short via penalty kicks in 2007 and 2010.