Box Score
TURLOCK – Cal State L.A.’s men’s soccer team discovered the third time was not the charm Friday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament semi-final match.
The Golden Eagles allowed a first-half goal to Sonoma State and lost to the Seawolves, 1-0, at Warrior Stadium on the campus of Cal State Stanislaus. Cal State L.A. (17-3-1) lost in a conference semi-final match to Sonoma State (14-3-4) for the third straight year.
The Golden Eagles, the top seed in the CCAA Tournament, lost its second contest this season to the No. 4 seed Seawolves, who were the CCAA North Division champions. The Golden Eagles fell in Rohnert Park, 1-0, on Oct. 11.
Cal State L.A., the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region, won six straight matches since that defeat before falling short again on Friday to the Seawolves, who are seeded No. 2 in the region. Sonoma State advances to the CCAA championship match against Cal State Dominguez Hills, which beat Cal State San Bernardino, 2-1, in the other semi-final.
The Golden Eagles had a big advantage in shots, 17-7, but couldn’t put one past Sonoma State goalie Brook Johnson. Cal State L.A. also had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, but couldn’t convert one into a goal.
Johnson made seven saves for the Seawolves, who scored on their only shot on goal.
Jose Martinez started in goal for the Golden Eagles.
Taylor Jones scored the only goal of the game in the 37th minute when he got behind the defense after a pass from Jomed Tejan and nailed a shot from the right side of the field into the left corner of the goal.
Cal State L.A. had a 5-2 advantage in shots at that point and got three more chances and a pair of corner kicks before halftime, but could not score.
The Golden Eagles put a lot of pressure on the Seawolves in the second half and had three corner kicks in a four-minute span midway through the period, but Sonoma State’s defense stood firm.
A shot by
Kristian Gaustad was saved in the 76
th minute and
Hector Macias sent a shot wide in the 81
st minute and the Seawolves held the Golden Eagles without a shot the rest of the way.
Gaustad had a match-high four shots in the game.
Cal State L.A. will now await the NCAA Division II playoff pairings announcement on Monday. The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the region heading into the tournament. The top four teams in the region will qualify for the 32-team playoffs.