The Chico State women's soccer team didn't pool its money to get Megan Tabler a rocking chair for her birthday, but at least the Wildcats did get the "old" veteran an extra week's rest.
 
Tabler, who turned 21 on Thursday, contributed two assists as the Wildcats scored three times in the first half before holding on for a 3-2 win against 21^st-ranked Cal State San Bernardino at University Soccer Stadium.
 

The victory in its regular-season finale secured a first-round bye for Chico State in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament. The Wildcats finished in second place in the CCAA at 8-2-1. And thanks to their fifth straight win, they're now 11-4-2 overall and building a strong NCAA Championship Tournament resume.
 
The Wildcats will open the CCAA Championship Tournament Friday in Turlock at a time yet to be determined against the winner of Sunday's Cal Poly Pomona-UC San Diego showdown. The winners of Friday's semifinal matches will square off in Sunday's CCAA Championship match with an automatic NCAA Championships berth on the line.
 
Chico State will be playing in the postseason for the seventh time in 11 years and first since the fourth-year senior Tabler and three of her teammates helped lead the Wildcats to the Final Four as freshmen in 2011.
 
She teamed up with one of those long-time teammates, Halima Abdelshife, to set up Shelby Lanksbury's goal 2:30 into the match. Abdelshife redirected Tabler's corner kick back across the goal and Lanksbury was there to slam it home from 15 yards. 
 
The Wildcats struck again in the 21^st minute. Pooja Patel took a shot that a Coyotes' defender deflected right to the waiting Lindsey Dias, who drilled it into the back of the net from atop six-yard box for a 2-0 lead.
 
Chico State took a 3-0 lead into intermission thanks to Katie Woodrum's goal, set up by Tabler's free kick, in the 44^th minute. Tabler angled the restart from 40 yards out from left to right and Woodrum worked her way clear of a defender and directed it home with a header.
 
Cal State San Bernardino brought some head in the second half, scoring in the 68^th and 78^th minute. But the Wildcats, who saw their four-match shutout streak come to an end, held on for their second win against a top-25 ranked team this season and third against a team ranked among the West Region's most recent top five.
 
Wildcats goalkeeper Brianna Furner and defender Torri Sims were also part of the 2011 team. Sims played solid defense for the Wildcats before leaving in the second half with an injury. Tabler, meanwhile, collected her 39^th career win, just one off Kari Gonzalez's program record.