MEN’S SOCCER
MEDIA NOTES
2009 CSULA Record: 17-3-1. CCAA Record: 13-2-1, 40 points, 1st place South
NSCAA National Ranking: 7
NCAA West Region Seed: 1
Golden Eagles Set To Host NCAA West Region Playoffs: Cal State L.A.’s men’s soccer team, which is making its third trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs in the past four years, will host the four-team NCAA Division II West Regional for the first time during that stretch. The other three trips were to tournaments hosted by defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills. The No. 1 seeded Golden Eagles will face No. 4 seed Cal State San Bernardino in a first-round match on Friday at 7 p.m. No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills will face No. 3 seed Sonoma State to open things up at 4 p.m. Cal State L.A. is also hosting a three-team women’s tournament beginning on Friday. The men’s championship match will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. Cal State L.A. is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA playoffs. The Golden Eagles also advanced in 1981, 1992, 1994, 2006 and 2008. Cal State L.A. advanced to West Region championship matches in 2008 and 2006 and reached the NCAA championship game in 1981. The Golden Eagles were defeated by Tampa, 1-0, in overtime in the title game. Cal State L.A. has 17 wins so far this season, which is the second-most in a single season in the program’s history. The 1981 team went 20-3 and advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game.
Who’s In: Cal State L.A. (17-3-1), which has won six of its last seven games, earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region. The Golden Eagles went from 1994-2006 without reaching the NCAA playoffs, but have now qualified in three of the past four years. Cal State L.A.’s 17 wins are the most of any team in the regional. Cal State Dominguez Hills, the defending national champion and the 2009 California Collegiate Athletic Association champion, is the No. 2 seed. The Toros hosted the regional for four consecutive seasons from 2005-08. The Toros (16-5-1) are the hottest team in the field and have won 10 consecutive matches. Cal State Dominguez Hills beat Cal State San Bernardino, 2-1, in the conference semi-final and then outlasted Sonoma State, 3-2, in double overtime for the conference title. The Toros are making their 12th NCAA appearance and won national titles in 2000 and 2008. Sonoma State (14-4-4), which won the 2007 West Region title, is 1-2-2 in its last five matches, but the one win was a 1-0 decision over Cal State L.A. in a CCAA semi-final match last Friday. The Seawolves are making their eighth trip and third straight to the NCAA playoffs. Sonoma State won a national title in 2002. Cal State San Bernardino (15-5-1) is the No. 4 seed and is enjoying one of its best seasons in years. The Coyotes are making their first NCAA playoff appearance since 1991 and the 15 wins are tied for the second most in a single season at Cal State San Bernardino. In the most recent national rankings, Cal State L.A. is 7th, Cal State Dominguez Hills is 15th, Sonoma State is 21st and Cal State San Bernardino received votes.
Golden Eagles Glad To Be Back: Cal State L.A., which has seen its men’s soccer fortunes surge in the past few seasons under head coach
Chris Chamides, is making its third NCAA playoff appearance in the past four years. Cal State L.A. went without a playoff bid from 1994 until 2006, when the Golden Eagles reached the NCAA Division II West Region championship game. After missing the playoffs in 2007, the Golden Eagles reached the West Region title game again in 2008 before falling to eventual national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Golden Eagles went in as a No. 3 seed in 2008 and eliminated No. 2 Sonoma State on penalty kicks after the teams battled to a 1-1 tie. Rufino Franco had Cal State L.A.’s lone goal in the 89
th minute, but Sonoma State got the equalizer just 24 seconds later. Cal State L.A. goalie
Tobias Hummel made the first penalty kick shot for the Golden Eagles and stopped Sonoma State’s first attempt and the Golden Eagles didn’t miss in their final four attempts to advance. In 2006, the Golden Eagles ousted Seattle Pacific, 2-1, in the first round on goals by Morten Marthinsen and Jaime Gomez. The Golden Eagles then tied Seattle University, 3-3, in a wild regional championship game before the Redhawks advanced on penalty kicks. Dennis Idrissa put the Golden Eagles ahead, 2-1, with a goal in the 72
nd minute, but Seattle scored the next two goals to take a 3-2 lead before Marthinsen tied with 4:04 left. Cal State L.A. is 4-5-1 in its previous five appearances. Cal State L.A. qualified for the first time in 1981 and beat Chico State (2-1) and Southern Connecticut State (3-0) to reach the national title game, where the Golden Eagles lost to Tampa, 1-0. In 1992, Cal State L.A. beat Grand Canyon, 3-2, before falling to Seattle Pacific in the second round, 1-0. In 1994, Cal State L.A. fell to Seattle Pacific, 7-0, in the first round.
Six Golden Eagles Earn All-CCAA Honors: Six members of the Cal State L.A. men’s soccer team were named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association team announced last week by the conference office. Senior forward
Federico Cino, senior midfielder
Aza Gomez and senior defender
Mickey Daly were all named to the first team, while sophomore defender
Simon Volk was named to the second team. Junior forward
Jason Swope and senior midfielder
Miguel Cucue earned honorable mention. The Golden Eagles have now had at least five players earn All-CCAA honors in three consecutive years. The 2008 team earned five honors, while the 2007 squad had seven. Prior to that, the highest number of All-Conference players for the Golden Eagles was four dating all the way back to 1995 when a program-record eight players were recognized.
Head To Head: Cal State L.A. will be meeting Cal State San Bernardino for the third time this season and second in Los Angeles. The Golden Eagles edged the Coyotes, 3-2, in overtime on Sept. 13. A penalty kick goal by
Aza Gomez in the final minute of regulation tied it and a goal by
Jason Swope 3:44 into overtime won it for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles won the rematch in San Bernardino, 3-1. Cal State L.A. took a 3-0 lead on goals by Swope,
Kristian Gaustad and
Spencer Tripp in the first 58 minutes. Cal State L.A. is 1-0-1 against Cal State Dominguez Hills this season. The Golden Eagles salvaged a 1-1 tie in Carson on a goal by
Federico Cino in the 54
th minute on Sept. 8 and Cal State L.A. won the rematch, 1-0, on a goal by
Miguel Cucue in the 39
th minute. Cal State L.A. is 0-2 against Sonoma State, dropping a pair of 1-0 decisions, one in Rohnert Park on Oct. 11 and one in the CCAA Tournament at Cal State Stanislaus last Friday. In that game, Cal State L.A. held a 17-7 advantage in shots.
Under The Chamides Watch: Cal State L.A.’s men’s soccer program has flourished under head coach
Chris Chamides, who is in his seventh season as the head coach for the men’s and women’s programs. Chamides was named the 2009 California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year in both men’s and women’s soccer. Chamides was the 2006 NCSAA Far West Region Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Eagles to the Far West Region championship game. He was also named the California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year in men’s soccer in 2004. Chamides has a career record of 79-48-16 with Cal State L.A.’s men’s team. The Golden Eagles were just 5-13 prior to Chamides’ arrival at Cal State L.A. in 2003. Cal State L.A. produced 9-9 and 9-9-1 records in 2004 and 2005 before jumping to a 13-8-2 record in 2006 that included a CCAA South Division championship and appearances in the CCAA and NCAA Division II Far West Regional championship games. In that season, the Golden Eagles made their first NCAA playoff appearance since 1994. Cal State L.A. was 11-6-4 in 2007 and 13-5-4 in 2008. With 17 wins so far this year, the Golden Eagles have put together a 54-22-11 record over the past four seasons, which is the best stretch in the program’s history since Cal State L.A. won 59 games from 1980-83. The 17 wins are the second-most in a single season for Cal State L.A. The 1981 team went 20-3 and advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game.
A Leading Scorer And A Scholar:
Federico Cino, who leads the Golden Eagles in scoring with 10 goals and eight assists for 28 points, was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team in voting done by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.3 grade point average and be a starter or key reserve. Cino, an international business major, was one of only three California Collegiate Athletic Association student-athletes to be named to the 11-player All-District VIII team. He is now on the Academic All-America ballot. That team will be announced later this month.
In Their Defense: Cal State L.A. has carried on its tradition of stingy defense this season. The Golden Eagles have allowed only 16 goals in their 21 games so far in 2009 with eight shutouts. Cal State L.A. has allowed more than one goal in only two contests this season – a 3-2 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Sept. 13 and a 3-0 loss at Humboldt State on Oct. 9.
Tobias Hummel has made 38 saves so far this season, while freshman Jose Martinez had three in a shutout win over Cal State East Bay in the regular-season finale. Defensemen
Mickey Daly,
Simon Volk, Brennan Brodersen,
Tony Hernandez and
Anton Gunnarsson have been outstanding for the Golden Eagles this season. Cal State L.A. allowed only 18 goals in its 22 games in 2008 and just 22 in its 21 games in 2007.
A Little More Spark In The Engine: Cal State L.A. has gotten more scoring this season. The Golden Eagles have 39 goals in their first 21 games after managing only 32 in 22 games last season. The 39 goals are the most for the Golden Eagles since they put up 45 in 23 games in 2006, led by Morten Marthinsen's 13. Federico Cino leads the team with 10 goals and 28 total points. Jason Swope has six goals and 16 points, while Kristian Gaustad and Aza Gomez have scored five goals each and Spencer Tripp has added four.