Northridge Wins CCAA Soccer Title

The Cal State Northridge soccer team, bound for the Division I level next season, said goodby to the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Saturday night.

And after the Matadors secured their sixth consecutive CCAA championship with a 2-1 victory over Cal State Bakersfield, longtime conference opponents are most likely saying good riddance.

Northridge, ranked 12th in Division II, defeated 13th-ranked Bakersfield on a penalty shot by sophomore fullback Don Imamura with 23 seconds remaining, sending the crowd of 1,655 at North Campus Stadium into delirium.

“I just tried to be as relaxed as I could and hit my spot in the goal,” said Imamura, whose shot into the lower-right corner was his first goal of the season. “I didn’t think about what he (Bakersfield goalkeeper Ken Lawson) was going to do.

“I just spotted the ball, calmed down and hit it. Thank God it went in.”

Northridge (10-4-4 overall, 7-2-1 in conference play) assured itself a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II playoffs, which begin Nov. 11.

The NCAA selection committee will meet Monday to determine participants and sites for the regional.

Northridge, which played host to last year’s Division II Final Four and draws some of the nation’s largest soccer crowds, seems a likely choice to play host for the West regional.

“We’ll be home,” Northridge Coach Marwan Ass’ad said confidently. “The NCAA loves us.”

Bakersfield, however, has entirely different feelings for the Matadors.

The Roadrunners (16-4-1, 6-3-1) finished third in conference play behind Northridge and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a result of Saturday night’s defeat. Bakersfield is now 0-22 lifetime against the Matadors.

Bakersfield had taken a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior forward Aaron Ellis, who took a centering pass from Graham Rhodes and headed it past Northridge goalkeeper Mike Littman with 22:33 left in the first half.

Northridge tied the score on a goal by Bill Durkin--his first of the season--with 36:20 left in the game.

The contest was on the verge of going into overtime when the referees ruled that a Bakersfield player tripped Northridge midfielder Terry Davila inside the 18-yard penalty area.