Box Score POMONA -- The battle between the two most recent NCAA Division II West Region champions figured to be close Tuesday night - and it was.
The Golden Eagles, the 2014 champs, battled the Broncos to a 0-0 tie in a non-conference contest between California Collegiate Athletic Association foes at Kellogg Field. Cal State LA (1-0-2), which climbed to No. 22 in the nation earlier on Tuesday in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, notched its first shutout of the season.
Cal State LA, after allowing two early goals in a 6-2 win over Saint Martin's in its season opener, limited Point Loma and Cal Poly Pomona, two of the better teams in the region, to just one goal over 220 minutes of playing time in its next two contests.
Chances were predictably few and far between two strong defenses. Cal Poly Pomona (1-1-1), which started the season ranked fourth in the nation, blanked Montana State Billings, 1-0, in its opener and then fell 2-0 to powerful Simon Fraser before Tuesday's match with the Golden Eagles.
Cal Poly Pomona finished with a 13-5 edge in shots, although there were only four shots on goal in the contest. Cal State LA goalkeeper
Dan Arnoll made three saves in his best outing of the season. He made the only save of the overtime period when he stopped a bid by Dante Medina in the 94th minute. Medina had three shots, two of them on goal. Arnoll also made a save on a header by Leonel Espinoza off a corner kick early in the second half.
Cal State LA's
Tim Klefisch had two shots for the Golden Eagles, while
Antonio Rosas,
Eddie Leon and
Troy Dumlao also had shots. Dumlao, who scored twice against Cal Poly Pomona last season in a 3-2 double-overtime defeat in a CCAA semi-final contest, had the lone shot on goal for Cal State LA.
Cal State LA will play another road game on Thursday afternoon at Concordia before opening CCAA play at home against Cal State East Bay on Friday, Sept. 16 at 4:30 p.m.