LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team successfully defended its NCAA Division II Super Region 4 championship Saturday night with a spectacular victory over conference foe Cal Poly Pomona.
The Golden Eagles got a huge second-half save from goalkeeper
Alvaro Unanua and a clutch goal from
David Elizaga and beat the Broncos, 1-0, Saturday night in front of a festive crowd at University Stadium. Cal State LA (17-2-2) stretched its unbeaten streak to 16 games with a third win in four meetings with the Broncos this season.
Cal State LA, the No. 1 seed in Super Region 4, advances to the Final Four for a second consecutive season. The Golden Eagles will join defending national champion Charleston, UIndy and Nova Southeastern in the national semifinals, which will be held on Thursday in Colorado Springs. The national championship game will be next Saturday. Seedings for the Final Four will be announced on Sunday.
The Golden Eagles are making their second straight trip to the Final Four after another outstanding battle with Cal Poly Pomona (14-5-4), which was the No. 7 seed in the Super Region. The Broncos had a strong following for Saturday's contest and the two fan bases certainly enjoyed the competition along with a pair of drums that added to the atmosphere.
The game featured two outstanding defenses and the Golden Eagles were able to shut down Cal Poly Pomona's potent offense, which entered Saturday's game with 52 goals scored on the season. Cal State LA handed the Broncos only their second shutout loss of the season.
Unanua came up huge when the Golden Eagles needed him and he made the save of the season early in the second half. After a Cal State LA defender slipped, Cal Poly Pomona forward Paul Henschke, who led the Broncos in goals with 13, was able to carry the ball down the field into a one-on-one situation with Unanua. The Cal State LA goalkeeper came well out of his crease toward the top of the box, cutting off an angle for Henschke to shoot at. Unanua held his ground for seconds and finally Henschke unleased a bullet from the top of the box that Unanua was able to save and prevent what would have been the first goal of the game.
The second dramatic moment came in the 67th minute and this one resulted in the only goal of the contest.
Carl Solli made a deft pass to
Jose Orellana down the right flank and Orellana sent a nice pass toward the middle of the box. Elizaga, who has been brilliant during these playoffs, slotted the ball inside the near post for his fourth goal of the season.
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Cal Poly Pomona had a 7-5 edge in shots in the game, while Cal State LA had an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.
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