A nearly 3 month long season filled with hard work, sweat and tense emotion came down to final showdowns on home turf for the Seawolves. But despite the season-long effort, it was a matter of one goal that made all the difference for the Sonoma State Women’s soccer team.

This past weekend, the SSU Women’s soccer team suffered a tough loss to Cal State Los Angeles, 1-0 in the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament title game. Following their 2021 CCAA championship season, the Seawolves came out this year as an even more refined version of themselves and hungry for a title win. That was the goal, but the 32 person team fell just short of the championship they were reaching for.

On Nov. 4, the Seawolves faced Chico State in the semi-finals, a team they lost to earlier this season 3-1. The 4th ranked Wildcats would prove to be a tough competitor, demanding a tenacious performance by the Seawolves to win in overtime 2-1.

Midfielder Julia Pritchard commented on the battle they faced last Friday, “I’m proud that we kept fighting until the final whistle, even though they scored we kept going. Going into the game we knew it was going to be a battle, Chico always puts up a fight, so we had to be ready for that.” 

The Seawolves were out shot by the Wildcats 6-1 in the first half and a corner kick netted by the Wildcats was waved off by the officials for offsides. The Seawolves caught a tough break of their own, when Lexi Zandonella-Arasa scored on a breakaway chance as time ran down in the second half. Video review verified that the ball didn’t hit the net before time expired, so the game remained scoreless at the half.

The Seawolves came out stronger in the second half, putting six shots on net and orchestrating stronger attacks. Additionally, the Seawolves drew 11 fouls in the second half, while only committing five.

Despite the grueling match, the two teams were scoreless by the end of regulation. In overtime, Chico State broke the seal first on a penalty kick to take the lead. Despite the deficit, the Seawolves remained focused, poised for a comeback to keep their championship hopes alive. It took SSU little time to strike back, as Pritchard found the net on a miraculous shot in the 1st minute of second overtime. 

Pritchard spoke on her game tying goal, “We only had 10 minutes left so I knew I had to start hitting shots and the first one I did happened to go in. After that goal I felt another one coming, and sure enough we got another one to win it.”

Pritchard’s game tying goal would breed an entirely new wave of confidence for the Seawolves heading into the last 9 minutes of overtime. The women’s team pressed forward until midfielder, Annette Sotelo drew a crucial call inside the penalty box. 

The penalty kick was taken by none other, Zandonella-Arasa. The team’s scoring leader would find the net on the shot and ultimately secure the team’s win, sending the Seawolves to the CCAA finals match.

There was only one thing that stood between the women’s soccer team and a CCAA tournament title, and that was Los Angeles State. The skies cleared on Nov. 6 as the stage was set for the finals match.

The two teams battled in the first half and the Seawolves appeared to produce more offensive chances as they out-shot the Golden Eagles 10-5 by halftime. Midfielder Julia Betti spoke on the team’s start, “I think our first half was one of our better halves in possession this season. In a championship game it’s hard to keep calm and I’m proud of the way we played the first half despite the final result.”

It was scoreless as the second half began, but within a blink of an eye, LA State drew first blood. The Golden Eagles wasted no time as forward Melody Landphear found the net in the first minute of the half.

With 44 minutes left in regulation, the Seawolves searched desperately for an equalizer. Between the 70th and 80th minute of the match, the team recorded 4 shots on target. The Seawolves mustard up everything they could to find a goal of their own, but come the 90 minute mark it just wasn’t enough. LA State stormed the field, celebrating victoriously winning their third tournament title in program history.

Following the loss, Zandonella-Arasa shared her thoughts on the finals game, “I think a key takeaway from today’s game is that when we possess, we’re a really good team. The moment we start to play direct we kind of lose our ability to make something happen.”