As the sun dips behind Triton Soccer Stadium in La Jolla, an autumn chill fills the air. The players and coaches sit on the edge of their seats.
This is a title rematch between the Golden Eagles and the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. A California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament championship is on the line.
Then, in the 84th minute:
GOOOOAL!
Forward Robin Lindahl connects with a rebounded ball following a free kick in front of the Cal Poly Pomona goal. Three minutes later, midfielder Carlos Zarate sweetens the score to 2-0.
“It wasn’t so much a matter of who we played, but a matter of focusing on ourselves and our preparation and making sure that we understood what it was going to take.”
“It wasn’t so much a matter of who we played, but a matter of focusing on ourselves and our preparation and making sure that we understood what it was going to take,” head coach Chris Chamides said in a post-CCAA championship press conference. “So I am really, really happy for the boys to have experienced that.”
The victory was extra special for transfer student Zarate, whose goal that day was his first as a Golden Eagle.
“It felt amazing to be able to contribute to the team and the win, especially in such an important game,” says Zarate, who is from El Monte and previously played for Rio Hondo College.
Under a blazing afternoon sun in the days before the tournament, Chamides commands the field with a whistle.
“Up! Up! Up!”
“Let’s go, man, get the ball in play!”
“I want touch and hit, not touch, think about it and hit!”
“The message we give to the players is trust the process, prepare, do all that you can to be ready for each game.”
“The message we give to the players is trust the process, prepare, do all that you can to be ready for each game,” Chamides says.
Antonio Rosas, a returning senior defender, said the program is meaningful not only to players, but to the community in which he was raised. As a kid, he and his friends often kicked around a soccer ball in the local park in Monrovia. Now those friends and his family come cheer him on in the stands. They’re proud. “It’s that feeling that one of us made it somewhere,” Rosas says.
The team brings together players from different backgrounds who learn from one another’s experiences. And for many, playing on the team and attending Cal State LA is a life-changing opportunity—an avenue to pursue their passion while staying on the path to graduation.
Golden Eagles men’s soccer players have received Championship Scholar Awards from the CCAA. The awards are presented to student-athletes in each sport who meet the CCAA’s highest academic standards. Midfielder Samuel Croucher, who graduated with an MBA, earned the honor in 2018 and Anton Lindbom received it in 2017.
“When we come [to play], we know we don’t come here to just have a good time, we are coming here to win championships—you can see it in training every day. There’s a goal we have in mind.”
The tournament championship was the highlight of the team’s outstanding season, which ended with a tough 2-1 loss in the NCAA Division II West Region quarterfinals to Azusa Pacific in overtime.
Of the 32-player squad, five players graduated in 2019. The team has many returners this season. They’re hungry for a third championship crown and more success in the NCAA Tournament. And they’re ready to work.
“When we come [to play], we know we don’t come here to just have a good time, we are coming here to win championships—you can see it in training every day. There’s a goal we have in mind,” Rosas says.