LA JOLLA, Calif-  The Sonoma State men's soccer team claimed their second CCAA title on Sunday afternoon with an exciting penalty kick win over Cal State Dominguez Hills at Triton Field in La Jolla.  Officially, the game will be recorded as a 0-0 tie, but the Seawolves will be sure to savor their 6-5 edge in penalty kicks and the accompanying CCAA Championship banner.   Eleventh-ranked Sonoma State will enter the NCAA West Regional at 18-2-3 while the fourth-ranked Toros will go in at 16-2-4.

Said head coach Marcus Ziemer, "This was an incredible game that could have gone either way.  Our defense was outstanding today... Brook, Duncan, Carr, Preck, Hall, and Taufer... they were all fantastic."

The Seawolves won their first CCAA title in 2005, also against Cal State Dominguez Hills.  Sonoma State has now won seven conference title (five of them in the NCAC) under Marcus Ziemer: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2008. 

Both defenses were superb on Sunday afternoon, yielding shots, but no goals.  Cal State Dominguez Hills had an overall lead in shots attempted (18-11). 

"This game was like a boxing match," said Ziemer, "We would dominate and have them on the ropes, they they would counter and take it to us."

On to penalty kicks, the Seawolves looked like they might be in trouble when Cam Vickers missed at the No. 2 spot, but a quick miss by the Toros' Scott Mariano and a conversion by Sonoma's Ryan Hall put the team on even footing again.  The Seawolves would not miss again, collecting scores from Scott Preckwinkle, Mark Wiedman, and Ben Langwith before Davide Furtado had what would turn out to be the game-winner.  It was the game-winner because on their next attempt, the Toros were turned away by a big save from Sonoma State's Brook Johnson. 

Johnson matched a season-high with six saves in the contest, in the process posting his 11th shutout of the season and moving into a tie for the career record of 24 (Dave Kaufman, 1989-91).  He was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player of the tournament while Ross Middlemiss was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player.  The pair were joined on the all-tournament team by Nathan Medina, Furtado, and Mike Duncan. 

Remarked Ziemer, "Our depth really paid off today.  We went deep on the bench and everyone added something to the game."

The Seawolves have now been shutout twice this season, both times by the Toros.  They have, in turn, shutout 11 of their opponents. 

The result brings back memories of last year's regional championship game, also won by Sonoma State on PKs, 4-2. 

Both teams will be selected for the NCAA West Regional, to be played next week.  What is not official yet, is where that regional will be played.  Cal State Dominguez Hills entered the CCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but they tied twice this weekend.  Sonoma State went 1-0-1.  The Seawolves will find out if it's enough to jump the Toros on Monday when the official details are released. 

For regional information, come back to sonomaseawolves.com!

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