Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's soccer team got a first-half goal and made it stand up for a big win over a big California Collegiate Athletic Association rival in defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills. Senior Andrew Marinez tallied a team-best four shots in the loss.
The Golden Eagles got a goal from Miguel Cucue in the 39th minute and went on to a 1-0 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills Wednesday at Jesse Owens Track. Cal State L.A. (7-0-1, 5-0-1 CCAA), ranked third in the nation, posted its third straight shutout and fifth straight victory overall.
The Golden Eagles also extended their South Division lead to six points over Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-3-1, 3-2-1 CCAA). Cal State L.A. has a conference-best 16 points, while Cal State Dominguez Hills is second in the South Division with 10.
Cal State Dominguez Hills played the final 46 minutes of the contest a man short after Alex Munoz was issued a red card late in the first half.
Even though the Toros played a man down for the entire second half, they had the better scoring opportunities down the stretch. Cal State Dominguez Hills held an 11-5 shot advantage in the second half and had three corner kicks, two of which came in the final three minutes with plenty of traffic in front of Cal State L.A. goalie Tobias Hummel.
Hummel made four saves, while Cal State Dominguez Hills goalie Markus Dickerson made eight saves. The Toros wound up with an 18-14 edge in shots.
Both teams had prime scoring chances in the first half before Cucue's game-changing goal. CSULA's Aza Gomez had a golden opportunity just 10 minutes into the game when he rifled a shot toward the left goal post. Dickerson, though, made a diving deflection to prevent a goal.
Tyler Petry received a perfect pass from Munoz and sent a hard shot that sailed just wide of the post in the 17th minute.
After a corner was cleared by the Toro defense, a Chris Rangel corner led to a missed header, but Cucue was there to knock it in for the lone goal of the game. The goal was Cucue's first of the season, while Brodersen earned his first assist of the year.
The Golden Eagles had some decent chances early in the second half, but Cal State Dominguez Hills pressed the attack later and had some quality attempts at the equalizer.
Diego Turoldo had a hard shot sail just wide of the left post in the 68thminute and Scott Locken also sent one just wide. The best chance came when Brian Alvarez had a shot from a sharp angle hit the side of the net with Hummel out of the goal in the 76th minute.
The Toros had a pair of corner kicks with less than four minutes to play, but were unable to convert.
CSUDH returns home to host a pair of northern California foes, beginning with Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, with first kick set for 7:00 pm.
(Courtesy CSULA)
