Toros Advance to NCAA Final Four with Win over West Texas A&M
Bolanos’ goal propels No. 1 ranked CSUDH to 2-0 win and a trip to the NCAA Final Four November 18, 2001

CARSON, Calif.—Juan Carlos Bolanos’ first half goal turned out to be the game-winner as the No. 1 ranked Toros advance to the NCAA Division II Final Four with a 2-0 win today over West Texas A&M today at Toro Field in quarterfinal playoff action.

“I get chills just thinking about the Final Four,” said CSUDH head coach Joe Flanagan. “We worked all season long to get to the playoffs, now we're in the Final Four. What an incredible feeling.”

The Final Four berth was made a reality early as senior forward Juan Carlos Bolanos (Bell HS) knocked in what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 12:28. Sophomore forward Scott White (Sonora HS) connected on a give and go in front of the mouth of the goal. Bolanos took the ball beat the West Texas A&M keeper Paul Hart and tapped the ball to the near post.

“That goal felt really good,” said Bolanos. “It took the pressure off of our team and put it on them. It gave us more confidence and then our defense really stepped it up and played great. This is a dream come true.”

WTAMU (15-4-2) had a chance to tie the game in the 27th minute when Davy Arnaud hit a rocket to the near post from 25-yards away. However, the shot deflected off of the outside of the crossbar resulting in a goal kick.

It looked like the score would remain 1-0 going into the intermission, however, the Buffaloes were called for a foul with :20 seconds remaining. CSUDH’s Sean Lockhart (Palm Springs HS) quickly gathered the ball and sent it into the front of the goal where junior defender Joe Cartlidge (Redondo Union HS) got his head onto it knocking the ball to the near post with just :08 seconds left before halftime.

“That goal just killed us,” said WTAMU head coach Butch Lauffer. “We didn’t have a chance to organize on that set piece. Going into the half down 2-0 instead of being down by just one goal really deflated us. We did have some chances though today we just weren’t able to take advantage of them while Dominguez Hills did.”

The Buffaloes came out strong in the second half pushing the ball forward more aggressively. But the Toros (21-1-1) defense was able to stave off the attack with the defense shutting them out the rest of the way. In fact, the CSUDH defense allowed only two shots in the second half and only seven in the entire game. The Toros on the other hand registered 19 shots in the game, 12 of them coming in the second half. Junior goalie Luis Morales (Banning HS) recorded two saves in the match to register his third shutout of the year. His record remains perfect at 11-0-0.

“We need to put two more great games together,” said Flanagan. “We can’t relax and have to play better to achieve our ultimate goal of winning the national championship.”

The Final Four berth is the first ever for the CSUDH men’s soccer team. They will play in the semifinal match against the winner of the other quarterfinal game between Lewis and Wheeling Jesuit, which will be played later on tonight. The site of the Final Four, which could be held in Carson, will be announced on Monday.