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Toros Repeat as CCAA Champions With 1-0 Win Over Sonoma State

CSUDH makes case for itself to host first two rounds of next week's Far West Regional to be revealed tomorrow morning

Box Score
Carson, CA -- Back to back.  Cal State Dominguez Hills rode Jose Serpas' goal at 18:07 all the way to the 2007 CCAA Conference Championship in a hard-fought 1-0 win over 11th ranked and top-seeded Sonoma State Sunday afternoon at Toro Stadium, giving head coach Joe Flanagan the best of birthday presents and the program its unprecedented 8th CCAA Championship.
    
With the win, CSUDH makes a great case for itself to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Far West Regional, scheduled for next weekend after defeating SSU, which was currently ranked 2nd in the region, while the top seed in Seattle University, whom the Toros bested earlier this season, tied Seattle Pacific in its last contest.
   
Today's match-up pitted the best two teams in the conference, with neither team giving an inch.  The Seawolves started fast as Nathan Medina took a loose ball 3 yards from the CSUDH net and blasted his left-footed shot high just 15 seconds into the contest, after which Julio Madrigal blocked a Casey Dayton blast in front of the Toro net in the 10th minute.
   
The Toros took their first crack at the scoreboard in three minutes later as Jose Serpas sent a corner kick to Kevin Gallaugher right in front of the Seawolf net, only to see his attempt go wide.
   
That missed opportunity became a harbinger for the Toros as Madrigal sent a corner in the 19th minute to Gallaugher, who headed the feed to Serpas, who then headed the ball past SSU keeper Brook Johnson near post for a 1-0 lead at 18:07, accounting for the first half's lone score.
   
As the game progressed, so did the intensity and physicality of the play as seven cautions were issued in the second half as an urgent Seawolf team pressed the Toro defense for the chance to equalize.  SSU outshot the hosts 9-3 after the break, tallying a 17-11 overall shot advantage for the game.  CSUDH keeper Derby Carrillo tallied four saves in the clincher, while SSU's Brook Johnson went for three in the loss.
   
“The last time played Sonoma (Oct. 5), I thought we played good but were not as sharp as we were today,” begins Flanagan.  “We had a little more of a game plan today and I think we followed it.  We worked hard and never stopped and just stayed true to the course of what we were trying to do.”
   
“We were doing our best to ruin Joe's birthday, but unfortunately we couldn't,” said SSU head coach Marcus Ziemer.  “It was a very intense game.  Both teams battled hard and DH did a good job of neutralizing our game a little bit.  Although the field made it very difficult for us to move the ball, you've got to give credit to them.  They are a very good team and it's a great rivalry, and hopefully we will get to play them again next weekend.”
   
Both CSUDH and SSU, along with current top seed SU and the fourth seed in Grand Canyon will find out Monday morning where next week's regional will occur, and which teams will face off.

In the women's CCAA Championship contest held earlier in Toro Stadium, Chico State and Cal State L.A. battled to a scoreless tie through regulation and two overtime periods before Wildcat junior Anjie Goulding converted the decisive penalty kick and senior goalkeeper Kari Gonzales came up with two key saves to lift the Wildcats to their first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament championship Sunday afternoon at Toro Stadium on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“It was quite a battle, terrific fans and just an amazing, amazing game,” Chico State head coach Kim Sutton said. “Give credit to Cal State L.A. They really took it to us.

“Both goalkeepers were fantastic,” Sutton said. “I though we really struggled the first half and really battle back the second half. To have them hit the post twice, God is really on our side.”

Throughout regulation and overtime, the two teams played evenly as both teams attempted 11 shots, with Cal State L.A. taking five shots on-goal and Chico State collecting four.

“I thought it was a hard fought game,” Cal State L.A. head coach Chris Chamides said. “I thought our women did extremely well. I couldn't ask for anything more.



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