LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team needed a clutch rally in the second half of its game against Stanislaus State to stay in the California Collegiate Athletic Association postseason chase and the Golden Eagles got it.
Second-half goals by
Morten Bjoershol and
Steven Eberle lifted the Golden Eagles to an exciting 2-1 win over the Warriors Thursday in a crucial CCAA contest. Cal State LA (11-4-2, 5-4-2 CCAA) jumped over Humboldt State and Cal State San Bernardino and into a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with 17 points.
It was an entertaining and evenly-played match. Both teams had 16 shots and Cal State LA had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
Steven Barrera made six saves in goal for the Golden Eagles, while Patrick Colobana made three saves for the Warriors (6-5-5, 3-4-4 CCAA).
The Warriors got the only goal of the first half on a perfectly-placed free kick by Bardlee Taylor. The ball was set up just outside the box and Taylor ripped a shot into the upper corner of the net for his third goal of the season in the 41st minute.
Cal State LA started generating some good pressure in the second half and got the equalizer on a beautiful goal in the 57th minute. It came off a corner kick by
Miguel Galvan Lara that was deftly tipped by Eberle over to Bjoershol, who quickly one-timed it into the net for his first goal of the season.
The Golden Eagles got the game-winner in the 85th minute on a spectacular give-and-go with Eberle and
Julian Zamora with Eberle doing the scoring honors with a hard shot from in the box inside the far post for his fifth goal of the season.
Cal State LA will conclude its regular season with a home game against Chico State on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on Senior Day. The Golden Eagles will honor their seasons in a pregame ceremony.