Despite five straight wins and its sixth California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division title, the Chico State women’s soccer team is struggling to find respect. This weekend, the Wildcats are hoping to use the CCAA Championship Tournament stage to make their squad impossible to ignore.
The Wildcats digested a double-dose of rejection on Wednesday with the releases of the most recent NCAA West Region rankings and the All-CCAA awards. Despite a 10-5-3 record, the Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the region behind a 9-8-1 Cal State Dominguez Hills squad. Six will be named to the NCAA Championship Tournament field Monday afternoon at 4:30. And Head Coach Kim Sutton’s squad was not awarded with a single First Team All-CCAA selection.
One fabulous Friday could render those facts old news, however. The Wildcats face West Region No. 2 Cal State L.A. Friday at 11 a.m. in the opening round of the CCAA Championship Tournament with a berth in the title match on the line. A win could not only vault the Wildcats higher in the West Region standings, but it would give them a chance to win their first conference title since 2007.
A fabulous Friday coupled with a super Sunday would put all of this week’s frustrations completely behind the Wildcats. Friday’s semifinal winners will face off Sunday at 11:30 a.m. with an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament – the cure for all ills – on the line.
Top seeded UC San Diego, ranked No. 1 in the West, will take on the Region’s fourth-ranked team, tournament host Cal State Stanislaus, in Friday’s other semifinal match.
Chico State fell 1-0 at Cal State L.A. back on Sept. 18 in Los Angeles. The Golden Eagles, 12-3-3 overall, earned the tournament’s No. 2 seed by finishing second in the CCAA’s South Division with a conference record of 10-3-3.
As if they needed more, the Wildcats might be motivated by their five straight losses and eight straight matches without a win against Cal State L.A. They last beat the Golden Eagles in 2006. However, one of the ties proved to be historic when they beat Cal State L.A. on penalty kicks to claim the 2007 CCAA title.
The Wildcats were not part of CCAA Championship Tournament festivities last season for just the second time since 2003. They qualified each season from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2009. All six of their CCAA Championship Tournament nods have come following North Division titles.
Chico State is 3-4-1 all time in CCAA Championship Tournament contests. They advanced to the title match in three of their five appearances.
The conference championship match will be televised live on Comcast Hometown Network for Comcast cable subscribers. The broadcast feed also will be streamed live through Stretch Internet. Access that through the "Championship Tournament" link directly below. Livestats will be available for all tournament matches via that link.
Tickets to the CCAA Soccer Tournament are available for advance purchase by visiting
WarriorAthletics.com/CCAASoccer.
Two-day tournament passes are $15 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors, and $3 for children under 12. Single-day tickets are $8 for general admission, $5 for students and seniors, and $2 for children under 12.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CCAA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT HOME PAGE
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The entire CCAA Championship Tournament schedule follows…
2011 CCAA Championship Tournament Schedule
November 4-6
Turlock, Calif.
Friday, November 4
Women’s Tournament
Game 1: No. 2 Cal State L.A. vs.
No. 3 Chico State; 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 1 UC San Diego vs. No. 4 Cal State Stanislaus; 1:30 p.m.
Men’s Tournament
Game 1: No. 1 Chico State vs. No. 3 Cal State Dominguez Hills; 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Cal State L.A. vs. No. 4 Cal State Stanislaus; 7 p.m.
Sunday, November 6
Women’s Championship: 11:30 a.m.
Men’s Championship: 2 p.m.
