Chico State center back Avery Huggins helped lead the way to another clean sheet for the Wildcats Saturday in a scoreless draw against visiting Cal Poly Humboldt. The true freshman from Phoenix, Arizona (Basha High School), says the best advice he has ever received is: “Your mind is the strongest tool you have.” Standing 6-feet-5, Huggins used his mind and his head to dominate inside the 18-yard box, helping hold Humboldt without a corner kick and limit the Lumberjacks to two shots on goal.
He earned Wildcat of the Week honors in the process.
Huggins played the full 90 minutes, as he has in all but one of Chico State’s matches this season. He ranks second on the team in minutes played to only goalkeeper Luis Albarran. While doing so, Huggins has helped the Wildcats rank second in the CCAA in goals-against average (0.57). They’ve allowed just 25 shots on goal in their first seven matches and have not surrendered more than one goal in any match.
Huggins and the Wildcats will open CCAA action this weekend at Sonoma State (Friday at 3 p.m.) and San Francisco State (Sunday at 11:30 a.m.).
Saturday’s Humboldt match will be featured as part of the fourth episode of the brand new “The Rivalries” docu-series produced by LG Electronics USA for the NCAA Championship Channel as part of a three-year partnership with the NCAA, Turner Sports, and CBS Sports. It is scheduled to air in late October or early November.
