LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team, the 2021 CCAA regular-season champions, now have a chance for a tournament title as well after an entertaining win over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday at University Stadium.
The Golden Eagles scored two goals in each half and beat the Toros, 4-2, in the second of two tournament semi-finals. In the opener, Cal Poly Pomona got a goal in overtime to edge Cal State San Bernardino, 2-1. Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona will meet in the tournament championship game for a fourth straight year.
Cal State LA (13-2-2), the No. 1 seed, took part in an entertaining game with the No. 4 Toros on Friday. The Golden Eagles, the No. 1 ranked team in the latest NCAA Super Region 4 rankings, got goals from
Gonzalo Talavera,
Morten Bjoershol and
David Elizaga as well as an own goal in the victory.
Cal State Dominguez Hills (10-6-1) got goals from Josue Cartagena and Michael McKibbin.
The Toros had a 12-10 edge in shots, while the Golden Eagles had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks. Cal State LA goalkeeper
Alvaro Unanua made four saves for the Golden Eagles, while Cal State Dominguez Hills goalkeeper Dylan De Baldo also made four saves.
The Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute due in large part to Elizaga, who drilled a ball into the box that was inadvertantly kicked into the net by a Cal State Dominguez Hills defender.
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The Toros, though, tied it up in the 21st minute on a perfectly-placed long shot from Josue Cartagena with an assist to Alpha Sowe.
The tie didn't last long, though, because the Golden Eagles regained the lead in the 23rd minute on a goal by Talavera. Elizaga, once again, started the play with a beautiful free kick that was ultimately knocked into the net from close range by Talavera for his fourth goal of the season.
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That's how it stayed until the 70th minute when Bjoershol, who was named the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight year earlier in the day, headed in a nicely-placed corner kick from
Manuel Garcia. It was Bjoershol's team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Cal State Dominguez Hills made things interesting in the 73rd minute when McKibbin pounced on a loose clearance in the box and finished from close range to make it 3-2.
Elizaga, though, put the game away with his third goal of the season,
Gerard Hernando found him with a pass, Elizaga dribbled into the box and fired a shot into the net in the 86th minute to make it 4-2.
The championship match will take place at Cal State LA's University Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now.
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