LA JOLLA -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team, with the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship already secured, now has its sights squarely set on a conference tournament title as well.
The Golden Eagles were brilliant in the waning moments of a well-deserved 2-0 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Friday in a tightly-contested semifinal at UC San Diego's Triton Soccer Stadium. Cal State LA (16-0-1) remained unbeaten on the season and will now face No. 2 seed Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. for the conference tournament title. The Broncos beat No. 3 seed UC San Diego, 1-0, in the day's first semifinal.
Cal State LA, which is the No. 1 seed this season after winning the regular-season title, is facing Cal Poly Pomona for the third straight year in the conference tournament finals. The Golden Eagles won the previous two times, by 2-0 scores, as the No. 5 seed in 2017 and the No. 2 seed in 2018.
Late goals by
Carl Solli and
Robin Lindahl gave the Golden Eagles the win on Friday in a game that hung in the balance until the end. Solli broke a scoreless tie in the 86th minute after
Carlos Zarate won a battle for a loose ball and Lindahl made it 2-0 in the 88th minute with a beautiful setup from
David Elizaga.
Cal State LA's defense was superb once again and the Golden Eagles posted their 11th shutout in 17 games after limiting the Coyotes to only one shot on goal in the match. Cal State LA goalkeeper
Alexander Brems recorded the save flawlessly and picked up his 10th individual shutout of the season.
The Golden Eagles had a 17-8 edge in shots for the game, including a 12-3 advantage in the opening half. Cal State LA also had a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.
After some promising moments for Cal State San Bernardino in the earlier stages of the second, Cal State LA's pressure finally began to show some dividends in the latter stages of the contest.
Manuel Garcia had a tremendous shot in the box after some pinpoint passing that bounced off the crossbar in the 84th minute and, just more than a minute later, Solli struck for the game's first goal. Zarate won a battle for the ball and sent a pass to an onrushing Solli, who collected the ball in the middle of the field and sent a shot past Cal State San Bernardino goalkeeper Jacob Huber for his fourth goal of the season. The assist was Zarate's eighth of the season.
Lindahl scored his fifth goal of the season less than two minutes later.
Leonardo Nogueira got the ball to Elizaga, who dribbled in dangerously toward goal before slipping a pass to the middle to an open Lindahl, who scored his third goal in CCAA Tournament action.
Lindahl had a match-high four shots, including three on goal. Solli had three shots, while Elizaga and Nogueira had two each.
Cal State LA will be seeking its fifth conference tournament title on Sunday and is aiming to become the first team to win three in a row since 2002.
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