UC San Diego ended the Chico State women’s soccer team’s 2009 season. Friday, the Wildcats will attempt to jumpstart their 2010 campaign and get some revenge against the Tritons with a win in La Jolla. A win Friday would put the Wildcats back squarely in the hunt for one of fourth berths in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament and avenge the Wildcats’ heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Tritons in the second round of last season’s NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional.

Chico State led that match, which came two days after the Wildcats advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the history of the program, 1-0. But UC San Diego equalized later in the first half and then won the match 2-1 with a goal in the 86th minute.

Despite the loss, it felt as though Wildcats Head Coach Kim Sutton had built a program that would contend for West Region supremacy for years to come. But things haven’t gone the Wildcats’ way this season. They’re currently 6-6 overall and 5-5 in the CCAA thanks to four losses in overtime or the final 10 minutes of a match.

Things could change dramatically for the Wildcats this weekend, however. A win against UC San Diego Friday (The match kicks off at 4:30 p.m.) and Cal State East Bay Sunday at 11:30 a.m. could give the Wildcats a chance to control their own playoff destiny. Champions of the CCAA North Division four times in Sutton’s nine years at the program’s helm, the Wildcats are currently in third place behind Cal State Stanislaus and San Francisco State. But if they win both of their games this weekend and San Francisco State and Cal State Stanislaus each lose at least once, the Wildcats would guarantee another North Division title with four more victories to wrap up the regular season.

The Wildcats can also give Sutton her 100th win at the helm of the program this weekend. She’s 99-64-35 in her 10th season.

Chico State striker Lisa Webster, who ranks third in the CCAA with six goals, is also closing in on some milestones. Already tied for eighth on the school’s career assists list with 13, she needs four more goals to reach 16 and the career top 10 in that category, and eight more points for 45 and the career top-10 in that category. Ashley Perlman, with 11 career goals, and Kelsey Ikemoto, with eight career assists, are also closing in on those respective top-10 lists.

UC San Diego, on a four-game winning streak, is the hottest team in the CCAA. The Tritons are 8-2-2 overall and 6-2-2 in the CCAA thanks in part to a stingy defense that’s already registered seven shutouts.

Cal State East Bay is 5-6-2 overall and 3-6-1 in the CCAA. The Pioneers have allowed 21 goals this season, second most in the conference.