Not playing at home can be a difficult thing for some teams, but not for Cal State LA men’s soccer.
They traveled to the Bay Area for road matches against Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday and Cal State East Bay on Sunday. The Golden Eagles have yet to drop a game this season.
“Every time you play away, there are always some variables: the refs, the weather, the field, but we try to put everything behind us and play our way,” said midfielder David Elizaga.
Playing their style of game was no problem, as they added a couple more wins to their total over the weekend.
It was a 2-0 victory against the Otters in Friday’s match. This marked the men’s eighth shutout of the season.
Elizaga did not hold back, scoring a goal 30 seconds into the game, giving the birds an early lead. He was assisted by midfield partner Jorge Orellana. Thus far, Elizaga has scored six times for the black and gold.
He described the goal as one of the best he ever scored with Cal State LA, “It’s always amazing to help the team. It felt really good.”
The Golden Eagles held the lead throughout the match. Player of the week, goalkeeper Alexander Brems did not let anything past him, with one save in the first half.
Midfielder Carlos Zarate secured the win, scoring his first goal of the season in the final minute, leading his team to victory.
Cal State LA had a 5-4 advantage in shots and a 3-1 edge in shots on goal.
The positive momentum rolled over to Sunday’s match, despite some bad weather. The Golden Eagles defeated the Pioneers 1-0.
Defender Antonio Rosas converted a corner kick from midfielder Jose Tovar 71 minutes in. This gave his team the lead and the win.
According to Elizaga, Sunday is when playing away seemed like it was starting to catch up to them.
“There was a lot of wind and we played really hard on Friday. We were on a field that is very hard to play on,” he said.
Despite the challenge, they had a 24-4 advantage in shots, a 10-4 edge in shots on goal and a 15-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Head Coach Chris Chamides shared his thoughts on his team’s success.
“We’re excited to have come this far and we are really looking forward to our final home games of the regular season. It’s been a challenging season and the boys are looking forward to playing in front of family and friends. We will continue to focus on our preparation and we hope to play well down the stretch.”
The Golden Eagles will be back home for a Thursday night match against Cal State San Marcos.
