The Cal State LA men’s soccer team earned their third win of the season in their 2024 home opener against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers by a score of 4-1 on Friday, Sept. 20. Cal State LA sought to get back into the win column after a 0-0 tie with Seattle Pacific last Saturday. Meanwhile, the Colorado School of Mines was looking for their second win of the season after taking down No. 9 ranked Point Loma last Saturday as well.
In the first half, the No. 3 nationally ranked Golden Eagles struggled to mitigate the aggressive play of the Orediggers by conceding a goal in the first 15 minutes. This was the first goal given up this season. Despite the forceful and competitive nature of the Orediggers, the Golden Eagles were able to tie it up before halftime. Midfielder Felix Alverdale got an assist from forward Braeden Pryor to tie up the game in the 41st minute.
“Our mindset was to be on the front foot. Unfortunately, we weren’t on the front at the start of the game,” said head coach Michael Erush.
Coming out of halftime, the Golden Eagles were firing on all cylinders. The Golden Eagles were able to match and surpass the aggression the Orediggers came out with. Fifty-four minutes in, defender Andrew Portis scored on a penalty kick to give the Golden Eagles the 2-1 advantage. At 75 minutes, midfielder Luke Varav scored with an assist from Tommaso Belli as the Golden Eagles continued to apply pressure. At this point of the game, frustration began to set in for the Orediggers, as some words were exchanged. Anger continued to build up on the other side as the Orediggers could not keep up and top the Golden Eagles. This, however, did not shake up Cal State LA because four minutes after the previous goal, forward Oscar Warne scored on another assist from Tommaso Belli, pushing the score to 4-1, capping off a dominant win.
“It was a tough and good opener. We played well throughout the whole game. We didn’t retaliate, but we came off stronger when we conceded one goal, and in the second half produced much of the attack,” said Oscar Warne. Overall, the win was a team effort by the Golden Eagles. Four different players scored their first goals of the season. Goalie Diego Bravo collected four saves, while on offense, Cal State LA took 12 shots and had nine corner kicks.
“I appreciate the reaction in the first and second half with the guys,” Coach Erush said.
The Golden Eagles look to continue their dominance in their next game on Sunday at 2 p.m. against MSU of Denver who has 1 win, 3 losses, and 1 tie.
