TURLOCK — With tournament seeding already decided before the match, the Warriors wanted to finish the regular season on the ultimate high — upsetting Cal State Dominguez Hills and handing the Toros their first conference loss.
Mission accomplished.
The fast pace offense caught the best team in the West Region off-guard, and with excellent defense Stanislaus State defeated the fifth-ranked Toros, 2-0, on senior night.
The Warriors (14-3-1, 8-3-1 CCAA) could use the momentum heading into Tuesday's CCAA Championship match as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Sonoma State at 7 p.m. at Warrior Stadium. Stanislaus State will be making its fifth appearance (and the fourth time since 2011 under head coach
Dana Taylor) in the conference tournament.
Cal State Dominguez Hills suffered its first CCAA loss as the Toros dropped to 14-2-2 overall and 9-1-2 in league play. The Toros had won eight straight and were unbeaten since losing the season opener on Sept. 3 to Point Loma.
More impressively, the Warriors shutout a Toros team that had outscored opponents 40-13 entering Saturday's match.
CSUDH had allowed just two goals in eight matches in the month of October while out-scoring teams 18-2. It was Stan State's 10th shutout this season, extending a new team record. The Warriors have held opponents scoreless in four of the last five contests.
Daniel Kuczynski continued his career year with his 11th score of the season when he tapped in a goal at 24:55 in front of the net. A
Ramiro Ceja long throw-in from the near sideline bounced off
Manny Villegas and right to Kuczynski for the goal.
In the 47th minute, a
Luis Hernandez throw-in was deflected by a couple of defenders right to
Gerardo Cazares' feet. Cazares blasted a 18-yard shot at the top of the box to make it 2-0.
The Warriors out-shot the Toros, 20-12 for the match with Chase Gentry picking up six saves for Dominguez Hills.
Russ Klabough made a couple of great saves and finished with three.
While Saturday night's match had little bearing on the tournament seeding, Stanislaus State had the regional rankings at stake as the No. 4 ranked team in the West heading into this weekend's play. The win over No. 1 Cal State Dominguez Hills could strengthen the Warriors' position heading into the postseason.
Cal State L.A., which beat the Warriors in overtime on Thursday, will host UC San Diego in the other first-round match on Tuesday. The winner of that contest and the Stanislaus-Sonoma State match will advance to the semifinals at Cal Poly Pomona next weekend.
