PITTSBURGH, PA -- Cal State LA will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Division II championship game in 38 years and the Golden Eagles are looking to script a different ending this time.

No. 1 seed and unbeaten Cal State LA (19-0-3) will face No. 2 seed and 2017 national champion Charleston on Saturday at noon (PST) at Highmark Stadium after reaching the finals with a 3-0 win over No. 4 seed University of Indianapolis on Thursday.

The trip back to the title game is turning some well-deserved attention back to the 1981 Cal State LA team that fell to Tampa, 1-0, in overtime in the national championship match in New Haven, Connecticut. A short-handed Golden Eagle team battled without three injured starters in the title game before falling just short of the crown. The Golden Eagles had reached the championship match by virtue of a 2-1 win over Chico State in the Far West Region title match, which was the national quarterfinals, and a 3-0 win over Southern Connecticut State in the semifinals.

The journey to the 1981 title match was chronicled by former Cal State LA SID Cecil Costilow and information from his press releases is included here.

Cal State LA 2, Chico State 1 --  Playing on a soggy field under stormy skies in Chico, the Golden Eagles got a goal just 10 minutes into the game from super freshman Carlos Juarez to take a 1-0 lead, but the Wildcats tied it 17 minutes later. A little more than halfway through the second half, Richard Torres scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, a score that Costilow called the most important of Torres' career since it put the Golden Eagles into the semifinals. Senior goalkeeper Larry Draluck had eight saves for the winners.

Cal State LA 3, Southern Connecticut 0: This semifinal victory turned out to be a costly one for the Golden Eagles, who lost three starters to injury, including leading scorer Martin Vasquez. The Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead on the 29th goal of the season by Vasquez, who later left the game due to a knee injury. The 29 goals scored that season is still a Cal State LA single-season record. A goal by Richard Torres in the 38th minute  made it 2-0 and a goal by Gary Green with an assist from Igor Beyder put the finishing touches on the win.

Tampa 1, Cal State LA 0 (OT): Leading scorer Martin Vasquez sustained a knee injury against Southern Connecticut and head coach Berhane Andeberhan made the tough decision to hold the freshman midfielder out of the game -- it turned out to be a wise decision as a medical examination ultimately revealed that Vasquez had suffered a hairline fracture of his right knee. Another freshman, Marc Charlton, was also knocked out due to a pulled stomach muscle sustained in the win over Southern Connecticut and Salvador Oliva was out with a broken leg suffered in a game against San Diego State. During the finals, Carlos Juarez was lost early due to a severly bruised right knee and left thigh and sophomore starter Ramiro Montiel had to leave the game with a badly turned ankle.

Even with a battered lineup, the Golden Eagles had their chances and had an 11-9 shot advantage for the game. The contest ended when Tampa's Peter Johansson scored on a free kick. According to Costilow's account, Johansson was actually awarded a second free kick when his first attempt was whistled off by the referee. The ball disappeared for a moment, appeared to glance off one of the Cal State LA players and just off the fingertips of goalkeeper Larry Draluck. 

Like Cal State LA's 2019 team, the 1981 squad had a long list of accomplishments:

-- CCAA regular-season champions (6-0-0 record for the 1981 team; 10-0-1 for the 2019 team)
-- Carlos Juarez was the CCAA Most Valuable Player in 1981; Alexander Brems was the CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019 and Morten Bjoershol was the Defensive Player of the Year.
-- Berhane Andeberhan was named the CCAA Coach of the Year in 1981; Chris Chamides was the CCAA Coach of the Year in 2019
-- Igor Beyder, Larry Draluck, Carlos Juarez and Martin Vasquez earned first-team All-CCAA honors in 1981; Alexander Brems, Morten Bjoershol, Tim Klefisch and David Elizaga earned first-team All-CCAA honors in 2019
-- The 1981 team finished the season with a 21-3 overall record; the 2019 squad has a record of 19-0-3 heading into Saturday's title match against Charleston (W.V.)

CAL STATE LA IN NCAA PLAYOFFS HISTORY (14 appearances, 12-11-8 overall record)
2019
Cal State LA 3, Midwestern State 0
Cal State LA 1, St. Mary's 1 (Cal State LA advances on PKs, 5-3)
Cal State LA 2, Cal State San Bernardino 0 (Super Region 4 championship)
Cal State LA 3, University of Indianapolis 0
2018
Cal State LA 2, Chico State 1
Azusa Pacific 2, Cal State LA 1 (OT)
2017
Cal State Dominguez Hills 1, Cal State LA 0
2015
Cal State LA 1, Stanislaus State 1 (Cal State LA advances on PKs)
Cal Poly Pomona 1, Cal State LA 0
2014
Cal State LA 1, UC San Diego 1 (Cal State LA advances on PKs)
Cal State LA 1, Azusa Pacific 0
Cal State LA 1, Seattle Pacific 0 (OT) (West Region championship)
Colorado Mesa 1, Cal State LA 0
2013
Simon Fraser 2, Cal State LA 1 (Second Round, at Cal State LA)
2012
Cal State LA 1, Seattle Pacific 1 (Cal State LA advances on PKs)
Cal State LA 1, Grand Canyon 1 (Grand Canyon advances on PKs)
2011
Cal State LA 2, Chico State 2 (Cal State LA advances on PKs)
Cal State LA 3, Seattle Pacific 2 (West Region championship)
Fort Lewis 2, Cal State LA 1 (Quarterfinals)
2009
Cal State LA 5, Cal State San Bernardino 3 (At Cal State LA)
Cal State Dominguez Hills 1, Cal State LA 0
2008
Cal State LA 1, Sonoma State 1 (Cal State LA advances on PKs)
Cal State Dominguez Hills 4, Cal State LA 0
2006
Cal State LA 2, Seattle Pacific 1
Cal State LA 3, Seattle 3 (Seattle advances on PKs)
1994
Seattle Pacific 7, Cal State LA 0
1992
Cal State LA 3, Grand Canyon 2
Seattle Pacific 1, Cal State LA 0
1981
Cal State LA 2, Chico State 1
Cal State LA 3, Southern Connecticut 0
Tampa 1, Cal State LA 0 (OT) National Championship Game