Championship Press Conference

LA JOLLA -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team turned in a repeat performance Sunday afternoon in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.

The Golden Eagles struck for two late goals to knock off Cal Poly Pomona, 2-0, in the tournament final at UC San Diego's Triton Stadium. Cal State LA (14-2-3) claimed its second consecutive conference tournament title and fourth overall and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 3 in the most recent West Region poll and will find out the NCAA Tournament selections on Monday at 3 p.m. on NCAA.com.

The No. 2 seed Golden Eagles beat the top-seeded Broncos for the second straight year in the finals, both times by a 2-0 count.

Robin Lindahl and Carlos Zarate were the goal-scorers for the Golden Eagles, who also recorded their fifth straight shutout and 14th of the season. Alexander Brems made five saves in goal for the Golden Eagles and completed a flawless tournament. Cal State LA didn't allow a goal in nearly 200 minutes of play during the tournament.

Sunday's title match was an entertaining battle between the top two teams in the regular season in the CCAA. Both teams had 15 shots, while Cal Poly Pomona (13-6) had an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.

The match stayed scoreless until the 84th minute when the Golden Eagles finally broke through. The scoring sequence started with a Cal State LA free kick that was blocked. Morten Bjoershol got to the rebound and sent it back into the box, where Tim Klefisch sent it ahead to Lindahl, who quickly put in a right-footed shot for his 11th goal of the season.

Cal State LA made it 2-0 in the 87th minute when Carlos Zarate was able to direct a left-footed shot just over the goal-line for his first goal at Cal State LA. Samuel Croucher picked up an assist after starting the scoring play and Daniel Simonis got the ball to Zarate for his title-clinching goal.

The Golden Eagles were presented with their championship trophy and banner and the celebration was on.

Bjoershol was named the tournament's Most Valuable Defensive Player, while Zarate was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player. They were joined on the All-Tournament team by Klefisch, Simonis, Brems and Lindahl.