LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team bounced back nicely from its midweek heartbreaker at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Golden Eagles got a goal from
Julian Zamora in the eight minute and their stout defense took over from there in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over San Francisco State on Sunday at Jesse Owens Track. Cal State LA (10-2-2, 4-2-2 CCAA) took over sole possession of sixth place in the CCAA with the win over the Gators (8-3-2, 3-3-2 CCAA). Cal State LA lost a last-minute decision to the Toros, 3-2, on Wednesday, but returned to its winning ways on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles also reached 10 victories for the seventh straight season and for the 11th time in the past 12 years.
Zamora had a spectacular goal to account for the only scoring in the game. He received a beautiful pass from
Kareem Salem, split a pair of defenders and fired a shot that hit off the inside of the left post, bounced across and hit the right post and went in. It was Zamora's team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Cal State LA did an admirable job defensively against a dangerous San Francisco State attack that produced some chances in the opening half. The Golden Eagles, after holding just a 9-8 advantage in shots in the first half, had a 14-4 edge in the second half and had several prime scoring chances go just wide in the latter stages of the contest.
Steven Barrera made six saves in the game and the Cal State LA defense - led by defenders
Morten Bjoershol,
Antonio Rosas, Salem and
Jose Orellana - recorded its eighth shutout of the season.
Steven Eberle had a team-high five shots for the Golden Eagles, while
David Elizaga had four.
Hakon Laugsand had three shots, including a pair of outstanding chances in the first half that required strong saves by San Francisco State goalkeeper Kyle Harmina, who also ended up with six saves.
Cal State LA will return to action with a game against Sonoma State next Friday at a site to be determined.