Kamara Caps Comeback in Toros 2-1 Overtime Victory Over Seattle Pacific in NCAA DII Men’s Soccer Far West Regional Finals
Sophomore’s score at 93:49 sends Toros to NCAA Quarterfinals vs. undefeated Fort Lewis College on November 19
November 14, 2005

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Sophomore Kei Kamara (Lawndale, CA/Leuzinger HS) intercepted a miscue deep inside the Seattle Pacific zone and left-footed a blast through the hands of Falcon goalkeeper Kellen Rosten to the back of the net, sending 10th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills to a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory and onto Colorado as the 2005 NCAA Division II Far West Regional Champions.

The Toros rode Kei Kamara's (#16) back to the NCAA quarterfinals as the sophomore knocked in this game-winner just less than four minutes into the extra frame. Photo courtesy Brian Minami

With the win, the Toros (17-4-2) advance to the NCAA quarterfinals against undefeated Fort Lewis College (19-0-1), the NSCAA’s top-ranked team, for a 2 p.m. (MST) matchup on Saturday, November 19, in Durango, Colorado. Fort Lewis advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over No. 16 Colorado Mines last weekend.

The Falcons, ranked No. 5 in the latest NSCAA poll and coming off a 2-0 victory over Sonoma State on Saturday, got on the board early, as Andy Willis dished an outlet to Nick Letts, who crossed the ball to the foot of Jeff Hallenbeck, who then beat CSUDH goalkeep Kyle Polak (Huntington Beach, CA/CS Fullerton) to the near post for a 1-0 lead at the 26:54 mark.

The Toros, however, came out strong after intermission, needing just under 15 minutes to even the contest. After Alberto Garcia (Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara HS) sent a pass into Falcon territory, Francisco Corona (Paramount, CA/LA Harbor JC) managed to stay onside before maneuvering around an SPU defender to gather the ball. Corona then sent a cross inside the 6-yard box to freshman Nick Rippeto (Garden Grove, CA/Pacifica HS), who beat SPU’s Rosten to the near post to even the score at 1-1, where it remained until the end of regulation.

Toros celebrate after winning the Far West Regional Championship. Photo courtesy John Alexovich

In the extra period, the Toros wasted little time in punching their ticket for Colorado. With just under four minutes elapsed in overtime, Kamara cut off an attempted outlet near the mouth of the goal and, in one motion, sent a rocket past Rosten’s right at 93:49 to ignite the Toro celebration.

The winner of the CSUDH / Fort Lewis contest will play the winner of Lander / Lynn in the national semifinals on December 2, hosted by Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls, Texas.

From CSUDH head coach Joe Flanagan, on the victory:

“A huge win. We’ve been unlucky the last couple of years, especially at home, and it’s nice to represent our region. We played together, which was our goal today, and played well enough to win, so I would’ve been happy with our performance either way. Getting somewhat of an early goal in the second half is always nice, and it took the pressure off and we were were able to find ourselves a little more. We had a couple other chances in the second half and I think for the game, we had the better play and the better chances. They had one chance there towards the end, but I think we definitely had the better play, and were very opportunistic at their end.”

From SPU head coach Cliff McCrath, on what changed after intermission:

“I think that we tired a little and weren’t getting ball to people. We were just kind of intimidated. Dominguez Hills was really hungry and were coming on, and that always puts a team on their heels and a team has to be really calm to get out of that kind of blitzkrieg. We got a little unraveled, but then we got some things rolling again, and it looked like we would come back. We got a wide open shot from one of our most deadliest guys, but he misses far post when it was wide open.”

From CSUDH forward Kei Kamara, on his game-winner:

“The ball came over the top and I saw the ball drop. I thought that the defender was going to clear it but he let it bounce. And after he let the ball bounce, I just wanted the ball first. I was going to go right but I saw two defenders so I went left, put my head down and took the shot. I just tried to put the shot on frame. The keeper got a little bit of hand on it, but I was happy it went in. We deserved that win. We haven't won a playoff game in a while, so it felt really good.”

From CSUDH head coach Flanagan, on Fort Lewis:

“It’s great to get out of the region, and I think our region definitely prepares us for anything we are going to face. Hopefully we can go to Fort Lewis and give them a game, and kind of go from there. They're No. 1 and undefeated and have a couple of good forwards who have scored close to 20 goals. And it’s a tough place to play, at 6 or 7000 feet elevation. But we’re looking forward to it, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Scoring - SPU, Hallenbeck (Letts/Willis), 26:54; CSUDH, Rippeto (Corona, Garcia), 59:05; CSUDH, Kamara (Unassisted), 93:49

Shots - SPU 13, CSUDH 21

Saves - SPU Rosten 7, CSUDH Polak 6

Corner kicks--SPU 3, CSUDH 5

Fouls - SPU 23, CSUDH 23

Cautions--SPU #14 Vaillancourt, SPU #7 Morris, CSUDH #9 Graham, CSUDH #11 Koza, SPU #17 Reuhl, SPU #6 Coggan, CSUDH #21 Rivas

A—165