LOS ANGELES – Cal State LA's Victoria Arredondo made sure the Golden Eagles got their 2016 season off to a winning start.
Arredondo scored two first-half goals and the Cal State LA defense made them stand up in a 2-1 victory over Saint Martin's Thursday at Jesse Owens Track. The Golden Eagles surrendered the first goal in the game in the 17th minute, but Arredondo struck for two goals in a 10-minute span to erase the deficit.
It was a welcome sight for the Golden Eagles, who held on with some stout defense in the second half to preserve the victory.
The shots were even 9-9 with Cal State LA holding a 6-3 advantage in the first half and Saint Martin's holding a 6-3 edge in the second half. Saint Martin's had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks, although Cal State LA's defense thwarted them all.
Goalkeeper Adriana Maldonado made two saves in goal for the Golden Eagles, while Ali Kohler had two saves for the Saints.
Saint Martin's jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when Kelli Bannerman received a pass from Sara Massee and tucked a shot that just got by Maldonado inside the near post.
The Golden Eagles tied it less than three minutes later with a great pass from Anahie Duran to Arredondo, who took one touch and then shot past Kohler and into the net.
Arredondo then had a tremendous individual effort for the goal that turned out to be the game-winner. She out-battled a Saint Martin's defender and was able to control the ball before knocking in a shot from close range.
Arredondo had an excellent opportunity to score in the opening minute of the game, while Jennifer Torres also had a good scoring chance go just wide in the second half. Saint Martin's Joslin Lindsay was dangerous in the game and had some good looks in the second half as well.
Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday in a non-conference game in Irvine at Concordia at 1:30 p.m.
