Postgame Press ConferenceTURLOCK - The Cal State Stanislaus men's soccer team has not scored a goal in this postseason, yet. Nor have the Warriors' opponents as the Warriors are advancing to the CCAA Championship match on Sunday after defeating Cal State L.A., 4-2, on penalty kick shootout Friday night in one of the semifinals.
The Warriors will play for another CCAA Championship as they seek their second in three years on Sunday at 3 p.m. against top seeded Cal Poly Pomona, which beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1, in the other semifinal match.
"It was phenomenal. (I am) so proud of the guys to come through two weekends back to back like this. It was a difficult feat, against the No. 3 (seeded) and now the No. 2 seed team," CSUS head coach Dana Taylor said. "The guys are able to keep that togetherness, that's so special and important as they are trying to defend the goal for as long as we have. For our guys, a lot of that comes down to their ability to work, trust and their desire to fight for each other."
Like Sunday when the Warriors edged UC San Diego in PKs, it was senior goalkeeper Clint Long again coming up huge in the decisive showdown. Long "guess right" and dove for two saves - including consecutive tries by L.A.'s Andre Bissmark and Christopher Gardea - to become the hero. The match will be marked as a tie in the record books, so the Warriors are now 6-8-5 overall.
The upset win over 16th ranked and No. 2 seeded Golden Eagles (13-3-1) is the Warriors' second straight "win" via the shootouts in this California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament with oth games ending up 0-0 after two overtime periods. Stanislaus beat UC San Diego, 5-4 in the shootout on Sunday in the first round match played in La Jolla.
Using the same order as he did on Sunday, head coach Dana Taylor sent Carlos Gavino up to face LA's Mike Beigarten first. The senior midfielder - who scored two goals in the 2012 CCAA Championship match over Chico at Carson - promptly knocked it in to the right to give the Warriors the upper-hand and again applied pressure on the opposition.
"I tried to take a couple of deep breaths and focused on the PK. I pictured myself scoring and I knew where I wanted to put it," Gavino said. "I actually get more nervous about my teammates than myself sometimes."
The Warriors followed with successful attempts by Gerardo Cazares and Brady Taylor to go up 3-2. After Bissmark's miss, Matthew Waldron gave the Warriors a two-shot lead at 4-2 to set-up the key attempt by Gardea. Long drove to his right to save Gardea's shot to allow the Warriors to rushed the box and piled on Long to celebrate.
"I was 6-for-6 on coin flips in the last two games, so I was pretty confident (when we won the flip tonight)," Long said. "I was able to guess right and really wanted to help my teammates win, beacuse they've work so hard for 110 minutes, it was my turn to repay the favor for them."
Cal State Stanislaus has not allowed a score in 220 minutes of play in two postseason matches and Taylor gave credit to his midfielders as well as the defenders.
"It was remarkable, Clint has been stellar all year. I'd like to say that the unsung heros are the midfielders worked so hard tonight - that group of young men, they absolutely battled," Taylor added.
No. 8 ranked Cal Poly Pomona got goals from Christian Gonzalez Diaz and Daniel Asor Friday night for its first CCAA tournament win to advance to the title match. The Warriors lost at Cal Poly Pomona, 2-1, back on Oct. 12.
The men's title match is at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Warrior Stadium. Tthe winner of the match will be crown the 2014 CCAA conference tournament champion, but unlike women's soccer, it does not guarantee an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
In the women's semifinals on Friday, Chico State edged Cal Poly Pomona, 1-0, in double overtime and top-seed Cal State L.A. blasted Sonoma State, 3-0. The women's championship match will be at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets will be available at the Warrior Stadium Box Office starting at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.