The Cal State LA women’s soccer team started the season strong with back-to-back games on home turf with a standing of 1-0-1, beginning with a 4-2 victory over Westmont College on Thursday, Sept. 5. It was an offensive explosion from the Golden Eagles in the last 46 minutes of the game that would secure them the first victory of the season.
The Golden Eagles started the game off at a slower pace. This allowed the Westmont Warriors to maintain most of the possession for about 30 minutes through the first half. Despite the slow possession start, the Golden Eagles got off to an early lead with a goal from forward Syra Valdez six minutes into the half. The Warriors’ strong possession led them to equalize with 12 minutes left to go, but the Golden Eagles eventually caught up to their opponents’ place. Head coach Erik Garcia attributed the slow start to players needing time to adjust.
“The formation they were playing, we were prepared but it gave us a little bit of problems at first,” said Garcia. “Trying to see that, the speed of the game and everything, we were trying to adjust. Once we saw it … it helped us in regards to possession.”
With under 30 seconds left in the first half, forward Delia Bocanegra received a through pass from defender Giselle Uribe that allotted her the shot that would give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead and the momentum heading into the second half. A set piece in the second half only furthered their lead as a corner kick from midfielder Shelby Melin allowed Liliana Gonzalez to header the ball in, pushing the score 3-1.
Gonzalez was the leading scorer for the team last year, and was glad she was able to score in the first game of the season.
“Honestly, it feels nice to get a goal in. I don’t think the past preseasons I’ve had a goal,” said Gonzalez. “It helps me when I get goals early on so then it gives me a little bit more confidence to continue scoring.”
A defensive miscue from Golden Eagle Peytyn Mize gifted the Warriors a penalty kick with under 15 minutes left in the second half. The Warriors converted it, but the 3-2 game didn’t last long as two minutes later, the Golden Eagles would score the final goal of the game, securing the 4-2 victory.
Reyna Roman, who scored the final goal and started for the first time since being a Golden Eagle, gave credit to the coaching staff during halftime for pushing positivity.
“Our coaches are very positive so they pushed positivity,” said Roman. “We kinda tweaked some things in the back line to finish our opportunities up top.”
Garcia gave credit to the team for their communication but wasn’t thrilled about giving up two goals.
“We got to look at the video, see what we can do, where we can maximize space,” said Garcia. “Making sure that we don’t give up two goals, I think that was too much. Usually we’re pretty stingy with that, so I’m a little disappointed with that.”
The matchup against the Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans on Saturday proved to be a difficult one, ending in a 0-0 draw. The Golden Eagles shot 11 times, seven of which were on target, and held defensively for most of the game, with the Vulcans slipping through only a few times.
Cal State LA got off to a better start in the game against Hawaii-Hilo possession wise, keeping the ball on the Vulcans half of the field. The strong possession allowed them to be aggressive, constantly pushing forward toward the goal, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to score.
Offensive woes continued for the Golden Eagles in the second half as they just couldn’t get the ball out of the reach of the Vulcans goalkeeper. On the defensive side, they were about to stand their ground as goalkeeper Taesja Paopao was all over the net to keep the Vulcans from conceding a goal, ending in the 0-0 tie.
Garcia was more impressed with the defensive outing in the second game compared to the first.
“We could’ve made better choices in regards to the possession of the ball with coming out of the back … however we did a good job of responding back and making sure and making sure we get back to position behind the ball,” said Garcia.
Garcia also touched on the offensive side of the game and how they can improve, including watching film from the game.
“We just had poor choices offensively, making that final pass, but we’ll work on it,” said Garcia. “These girls are skillful enough, they understand what we need to do but we got to sit down, analyze that.”
The Golden Eagles have a few days off before taking the field again at University Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. against Vanguard. They will defend their home turf once more on Saturday, Sept. 14 against Point Loma at 7 p.m. before hitting the road to play Biola University next Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Al Barbour Field.
