TURLOCK, Calif.---  The SF State women's soccer team captured the 2010 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship on Sunday, defeating the No. 25 Cal State LA Golden Eagles, 3-2,  in penalty kicks at Warrior Stadium. With the result, the Gators recorded the school's first-ever CCAA title in any sport and secured the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

“I feel excited, exhilarated and am really proud of this team,” said SF State Head Coach Jack Hyde. "This whole week we just emphasized having fun and enjoying the game along with the experience of the CCAA Championships."

Sunday marked second straight game that the Gators went to shootout round. In the semifinals on Friday, SF State (11-4-5) won 4-3 in penalty kicks as Myriah Johnson (Lakewood, Washington, Clover Park) made the decisive kick. This time it was freshman Mari Mendizabal (Milpitas, California, Milpitas HS) who made the decisive penalty kick, while the tournament's Most Valuable Defensive Player, Annicia Jones (Sacramento, California, West Campus), stopped the Golden Eagles' Ann Marie Tangora's attempt from going in as her final attempt hit the cross bar to seal the win and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

To get to the shootout round, the Gators scored the game's first goal in the 14th minute as Michelle Spinner (Bakersfield, California, Stockdale) connected on a pass from Carly Bliss (San Diego, California, Ranch Bernardo) and Myriah Johnson for her sixth goal of the season. Cal State LA (15-4) then tied the game in the 17th minute when Liz Franco tallied her 14th goal of the season on a ball from Stacey Rodwell and Tangorra.

The Golden Eagles controlled the rest of the game and outshot the Gators 21-7. Jones came up big for the Gators as she recorded 8 saves, but Nicole Smith (Martinez, California, Alhambra) made the biggest save of the game with 13 seconds left in regulation as she stopped Alex Conley's shot on goal attempt. 

Neither team had a shot attempt in the first overtime period. In the second overtime period, Stacey Rodwell had the first shot on goal attempt for the Golden Eagles, but Jones saved it in the 105th minute as she did again in the 106th minute on Conley's shot.

In the penalty kick round, both teams missed their first attempt. In the second round, Nicole Vanni made it for the Gators, while Liz Franco converted hers for the Golden Eagles. In the next round, it was the tournament's Most Valuable Offensive Player Carly Bliss who connected for SF State, while Erica Thomas converted hers for Cal State LA. Then came Mendizabal and she made what proved to be the decisive penalty kick. Then Jones stopped the Golden Eagles' Tangorra from converting her attempt. SF State's missed its final attempt as did the Golden Eagles to secure the CCAA Championship for the Gators. 

Box Score

2010 CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Most Valuable Player-Offensive Carly Bliss (SF State)
Most Valuable Player-Defensive Annicia Jones (SF State)
Liz Franco (Cal State LA)
Karenee Demery (Cal State Stanislaus)
Alex Conley (Cal State LA)
Ann Marie Tangorra (Cal State LA)
Myriah Johnson (SF State)
Michelle Spinner (SF State)
Annette Ilg (UC San Diego) 
Nicole Smith (SF State)
Melina Barragan (Cal State LA)