LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's soccer team turned in an inspired effort on Sunday and the Golden Eagles were finally rewarded with a big California Collegiate Athletic Association victory.
The Golden Eagles struck for a pair of goals in a two-minute span to break a scoreless tie and went on to an important 2-1 win over Stanislaus State at University Stadium. Cal State LA (1-7-2, 1-2-1 CCAA) put itself right back into the chase for a conference tournament spot with the victory, pulling to within one point of sixth place and three points of third after the second week of conference play. Stanislaus State (4-4-2, 1-1-2 CCAA) is tied for sixth place with Cal State San Marcos.
The result finally ended a frustrating stretch for the Golden Eagles, who have been competitive in each of their previous games, but unable, seemingly, to catch a break. They finally converted on a pair of scoring chances late in the second half to pick up the win.
The game was scoreless until the 72nd minute and all three goals in the contest were scored in a 15-minute stretch.
Kaelah Basurto and
Natalie Reynoso scored the goals for Cal State LA, while Julia Cummings scored for the Warriors to make it a 2-1 game with less than four minutes left.
Both teams had 12 shots in the contest, while the Warriors had an 8-3 edge in corner kicks, including a 7-1 edge in the first half.
Areli Reyes had four saves in goal for the Golden Eagles, while
Amanda Leal made three saves for the Warriors.
Even though the game was scoreless in the first half, both teams had some good chances early. Reyes had to come up big to deflect away a dangerous shot from Rayana Clancarte in the third minute. The Warriors earned a corner kick, but Cal State LA defended it well.
Cal State LA's
Miyah Coleman had a header that just missed wide in the seventh minute, while Stanislaus State's Ilena Rivera had a shot bounce off the crossbar in the 11th minute.
Basurto broke the scoreless tie with her first goal of the season.
Morgan Patea started the scoring sequence with a hard shot that Leal made a sensational diving save to keep out of the net. Basurto, though, was there to knock in the rebound to give the Golden Eagles the lead.
Then, less than two minutes later, Reynoso jumped on a miscue and shot it into the net to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Stanislaus State made it 2-1 in the 87th minute when Julia Cummings expertly headed in a free kick from Jenna Zuniga. The goal made for some anxious moments down the stretch for the Golden Eagles, but the defense stood tall.
Shelby Melin had three shots for the Golden Eagles, while Coleman had two.
Cal State LA will return to action on Thursday with a home match against Cal State San Marcos.
