CARSON -- Scoreboard. Despite trailing in shots, shots on goal, and corner kicks, Cal State Dominguez Hills earned the advantage in the only category that matters in taking a 3-2 win over visiting Cal State San Marcos this afternoon at Toro Stadium.
With the win, CSUDH sits in a four-way tie for 7th place in the California Collegiate Athletiic Association standings with 15 points, but is alone in 6th place based on winning percentage with its 4-3-3 CCAA record.
The top seven teams in conference qualify for the CCAA Championship Tournament that begins on November 1, on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.
San Marcos put the Toros in an early hole after taking a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of play. Cole Bon, however, cut CSUDH's deficit in half less than a minute later after taking a feed from Tucker Malinofsky and sending it to the upper right V for the score at the 15:50 mark.
That's where the score remained until the final 20 minutes of play when
Andrew Arreola equalized at 72:14 after an assist from
Juan Calderon, draping momentum in Cardinal and Gold.
Duane Baker (pictured) made sure the Toros kept that momentum less than five minutes later after
Nathan Hernandez fed Baker, who slotted his blast low and center past the Cougar keeper, sending the Toro Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
CSUDH withstood seven shots in the final 13 minutes, with the Toro defense and keeper
Keegan O'Brien keeping San Marcos out of the net.
San Marcos enjoyed a 26 to 14 shot advantage over the Toros including 11 to 7 shots on frame. The Cougars also edged the Toros 6 to 4 in corners as the teams combined for 20 fouls.
The Toros will look to solidify their grasp in the CCAA standings on the road next Saturday for their penultimate CCAA match of the regular season, facing Menlo College for a 2 pm first touch.
