Golden Eagles soccer soars to new heights in historic seasons

Golden Eagles soccer soars to new heights in historic seasons

Men and women’s programs advanced to post-season play

Support your team …

Golf
The Golden Eagle Golf Tournament will be held on May 10 at Via Verde Country Club. Pre-golf festivities include a putting contest and breakfast; warm-up on the driving range begins at 8:30 a.m. and the tournament kicks off at 10:30 a.m.

Baseball
The Golden Eagles have a four-game series against the Chico State Wildcats the weekend of April 9 through April 11. The series starts on Friday at 6 p.m. with a single game, and continues through the weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., and a game at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Tennis
Cal State L.A.'s women's tennis squad will be playing nine home matches between February and March. Our pick for a great match, though is on Tuesday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. Take a late lunch and stop by campus.

Track and Field
The annual Tommy "Tiny" Lister Classic, on Saturday, April 24, will feature premier athletes from around the area and is the big event this spring.

The meet is held to honor Lister, the 1982 NCAA shot put champion who competed for Cal State L.A. He then went on to Hollywood and starred in movies such as “Friday” and “No Holds Barred.” He is also well known as “Zeus” for his feud with superstar professional wrestler, Hulk Hogan.

For more information on any of these events, visit www.csulaathletics.com or call the Athletics Department at (323) 343-3080.

In 2009, the NCAA Division II soccer world cast its eyes on the campus of Cal State L.A., where the men’s and women’s programs thrilled its followers with historic campaigns.

The men’s team attained its first-ever No. 1 national ranking. The women’s team won its first California Collegiate Athletic Association championship. And both teams had the rare opportunity to host NCAA playoff games. To say the least, it was a sensational year.

Chris Chamides, who just completed his seventh season as the head coach for both programs, has lifted the men’s and women’s soccer programs onto the national landscape. Cal State L.A. was the only school in the nation to host NCAA Division II playoff games in both men’s and women’s soccer in 2009. The Golden Eagles earned that right after being ranked No. 1 in the West Region on both the men’s and women’s sides.

In front of enthusiastic crowds at Jesse Owens Track over a three-day period in November, Cal State L.A.’s men’s team knocked off Cal State San Bernardino in a thrilling 5-3 victory in a semi-final match before falling to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the regional final, 1-0, while the Golden Eagles women dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills in a West Region semi-final.

Both teams earned national Top-10 rankings at the end of the regular season with the women checking in at a program-best No. 6 and the men notching a No. 7 ranking. Following the playoffs, Cal State L.A. was ranked No. 12 in the final men’s rankings, while the women were No. 14.

“We are really proud to have placed our men’s and women’s soccer teams among the elite programs in the country,” Chamides said. “Their high national rankings are a testament to the hard work our student-athletes put into their preparation throughout the year. Our programs are proud to represent this University and shine a positive light to our campus.”

Along the way, several records were set by both programs.

  • The men’s program, thanks to a 10-0-1 start that included a win and a tie against defending national champion Cal State Dominguez Hills, achieved its first-ever No. 1 national ranking on Oct. 6. Cal State L.A. went on to capture the CCAA South Division title for the second time in four years with a conference-best 13-2-1 record.

  • The Golden Eagles not only earned the top-seed for the four-team CCAA Championship Tournament, but they also maintained the No. 1 ranking in the West Region, which enabled them to host the four-team NCAA West Regional.

  • Cal State L.A. had four All-Americans—Federico Cino, Mickey Daly, Miguel Cucue and Aza Gomez—which were more than any other program this season and set a new single-season CSULA mark. The Golden Eagles were 18-4-1 overall and now have 55 wins over the past four seasons, which is the best four-year stretch since 1981-1984.

  • The women’s program, meanwhile, entered completely uncharted waters. Before Chamides’ arrival, the Golden Eagles women’s team hadn’t had a winning season since the program started in 1995. Cal State L.A. now has four winning seasons in the past five years.

  • Cal State L.A. had a 17-3-2 record in 2009 and set new program records for wins and goals scored (53). The Golden Eagles also captured their first CCAA championship, first winning the South Division with a 12-2-2 record and then beating Chico State (1-0) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-0) in the conference championship tournament.

  • Junior forward Liz Franco and senior midfielder Amanda Matthews became the first women’s soccer players to earn All-America honors. Franco also became the first to be named the West Region Player of the Year. She was also named the CCAA Offensive Player of the Year, while Matthews was the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year. Both were firsts for a Cal State L.A. women’s soccer player.

  • Chamides was named the CCAA Coach of the Year for men’s and women’s soccer.

  • Two soccer players, Cino of the men’s team and defender Reauna Wong of the women’s team, earned CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII honors this past season for combining academic and athletic excellence.