ROHNERT PARK -- Cal State LA's historic women's soccer season ended in heartbreak on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Division II West Regional.
The Golden Eagles, two days after posting the first NCAA playoff road victory in program history, fell to Western Washington, 1-0, in double overtime at Sonoma State's Seawolf Field. Cal State LA (9-8-1), the No. 7 seed in the region, gave No. 3 seed Western Washington (20-2) all it could handle before the Vikings broke through for the game-winner in the 103rd minute.
Goalkeeper
Amanda Leal had a tremendous tournament for the Golden Eagles. The junior newcomer followed up a 12-save performance on Friday in a 1-0 win over host and No. 2 seed Sonoma State, with a 13-save outing against Western Washington on Sunday. Cal State LA's defense did a masterful job of making sure most of the attempts were from range and Leal's best save might have come midway through the opening half when she made a diving save of a shot by Karli White that seemed destined to find the net inside the far post. Throughout the match, Leal stood strong in net and thwarted Western Washington's potent offense.
Senior defenders
Adyson Willett and
Nicolette Elliott played all 103 minutes for the Golden Eagles and were outstanding in the center of the Cal State LA defense.Â
Western Washington had a 22-4 edge in shots, including a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Vikings had a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
After weathering an early Western Washington surge in the first half, Cal State LA began to find its footing and might have had the best scoring opportunity in regulation. Elliott sent a beautiful free kick into the box early in the second half, where Willett got a header toward the goal that was tipped by Western Washington goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx just in front of the goal.
Danya Gutierrez, who had the game-winner late in the 1-0 win against Sonoma State on Friday, then headed the rebound just over the crossbar.
White had a good chance on a hard left-footed shot in the 68th minute that was saved by Leal and she made another solid stop in the final minute of regulation to send the game into overtime.
The game-winning goal came in the 103rd minute. Western Washington's Peyton Chick sent a high-arching ball into the 6-yard box from about 35 yards out. The ball appeared to glance off Liv Larson in the box and wind up at the feet of Grace Eversaul, who tapped the ball into an empty net.
The result on Sunday was a reversal of Cal State LA's big 1-0 overtime win over the Vikings in Los Angeles on Sept. 16.
Western Washington advances to the West Region championship match for the seventh time in the past eight years.
Cal State LA was making its first NCAA appearance since 2014 and its sixth overall. The Golden Eagles' win on Friday was the second NCAA playoff win in the program's history and the first since 2011.
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