Women's Soccer | 11/4/2014 2:20:00 PM

Thirty-three seconds is long enough to change the trajectory of a season. Long enough to help a year of dreams come to fruition.
 
For the Chico State women's soccer team, 33 seconds on a Friday in early October spearheaded a surge that propelled the Wildcats into the postseason, where every second counts, for the seventh time in 11 years.
 

Sutton, 'Cats featured on "Game On"

The Chico State Women's Soccer team and Head Coach Kim Sutton will be featured on the Comcast Hometown Network program "Game On" Friday night at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE for a sneak peak.

This marks the team's first postseason match since 2011 – when seniors Megan Tabler, Brianna Furner, Halima Abdelshife and Torri Sims helped lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Championship Tournament Final Four as freshmen.
 
It's been their dream to get back ever since. They've got a shot, thanks in no small part to those 33 seconds on Oct. 4.
 
The Wildcats were 4-3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at the time. And they were in the midst of a second-half swoon against a Cal Poly Pomona squad that had tied the match earlier in the half and were threatening to steal a win on the road.
 

But sophomore Shelby Lanksbury's hustle and Tabler's terrific chip shot turned that tie into a two-goal advantage in the span of just 33 seconds.
 
About the same amount of time it took you to read to this point.
 
The Wildcats went on to win the match 3-1, starting a stretch in which the went 7-1-1 over the final nine matches to earn a spot back in the No. 2 seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament.
 
The Wildcats, who wrapped up a first-round bye with a 3-2 win Thursday, will take on that same Cal Poly Pomona team (a 2-0 winner against UC San Diego in Sunday's first round) Friday at 11 a.m. in Turlock in the CCAA Championship Tournament semifinals.
 
The final, featuring the Chico State-Cal Poly Pomona winner against the Sonoma State-Cal State L.A. winner, is scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 in Turlock.
 
Chico State may need the automatic berth that comes with the CCAA Championship Tournament title to reach the NCAA Championship Tournament. The Wildcats, 11-4-2 on riding a five-match win streak, were ranked No. 9 in last week's NCAA West Region poll. Six of the seven teams ranked directly above the have four losses as well. They'll learn if they've moved up the rankings when they're announced against Wednesday.
 
Cal Poly Pomona, 12-4-1 and unbeaten in its last eight, was ranked No. 4 in last week's poll.
 
When these teams met earlier this season, The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the 20^th minute on Lindsey Dias' header off Tabler's free kick. They controlled the first half, out-shooting Cal Poly Pomona 8-2.
 
But the Broncos stormed back, scoring the equalizer six minutes into the second half and accounting for five of the first six shots post-intermission.
 
Then the Wildcats turned the tide. Lanksbury battled to win a loose ball along the right flank and found Tabler alone atop of the box. Tabler took a touch and then hit a 20-yard floating teardrop off the goalkeeper's fingertips and into the net for a 2-1 edge.
 
Just 33 seconds later, Lanksbury raced after a ball played back to the keeper, leaping as she attempted to clear it. The ball ricocheted off of Lanksbury's side and into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER POSTSEASON NOTES