WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS -- Cal State LA's remarkable 2023 season came to a heartbreaking and stunning fashion Sunday afternoon in a wild NCAA Division II Super Region 4 title match against Colorado State-Pueblo.

The Golden Eagles took one-goal leads three times, including a final time midway through the second overtime period, but the Thunderwolves answered each score and ultimately prevailed in a six-round penalty kick shootout, 4-3, to win their second straight Super Region 4 title and advance to next week's Final Four. Cal State LA, which won Super Region 4 championships in 2019 and 2021, ends its season with a record of 18-1-3 record, equaling the program record for fewest losses in a season. The game is officially recorded as a 3-3 tie.

The Thunderwolves advance to their second straight Final Four after advancing to the championship game in 2022.

It was a stunning and ultimately entertaining match between two outstanding programs. Cal State LA entered the game coming off a 1-0 win over Cal Poly Pomona and with a program-record 16 shutouts, including six straight, and had allowed only eight goals all season, while Colorado State-Pueblo was coming off a 1-0 win over No. 1 seed and host Midwestern State in a game where the Thunderwolves allowed only three shots. Yet the two teams combined for six goals on Sunday in the title match.

Carl Solli opened the scoring for the Golden Eagles in the 17th minute with a clever shot after running onto a long pass from Oliver Diaz. Solli ran it down and then chipped the ball over the goalkeeper and softly into the net. It was the third goal of the season for Solli, who always seemed to play his best in tournament situations during his Cal State LA career.

Colorado State-Pueblo, though, tied it five minutes later after a long throw-in into the box was sent into traffic and Jack Pascoe was able to fire off a hard shot through the pack and in.

The score was 1-1 at halftime before Cal State LA took its second lead of the game, this one from Aidan Wait, who entered the game just moments before to replace an injured Solli. The goal came after a sustained push by the Golden Eagles that picked up steam when Geovanni Antuna passed to Oscar Warne, who placed a ball into the box. Wait was able to fire off a left-footed shot inside the far [ost for his seventh goal of the season in the 58th minute.

Once again, the Thunderwolves responded with a goal to tie it 10 minutes later. Ignatius DeMark did the scoring honors with a header to the far post in the 68th minute.

The defenses tightened up down the stretch and the game went into overtime.

In the second overtime period, the Golden Eagles figured they had the game-winner after a brilliant left-footed strike from Roie Mordechay put them back ahead with exactly five minutes remaining. The Thunderwolves, though, got the equalizer with just 1:13 remaining to send the game into overtime.

Cal State LA's Julian Aadlandsvik made a pair of saves for the Golden Eagles and Bryan Ortega, Simon Johansen and Mordechay made their tries, but it was the Thunderwolves who prevailed after the sixth round, 4-3.