POMONA – Cassi Scroggins was smiling through the tears. The career of the Chico State women's soccer team's co-captain likely came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Stanislaus State in the opening round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament Friday. But it was a career she couldn't help but smile about.
 
"It's been amazing," the team's co-captain said. "I couldn't have asked for a better career. It's been everything I wanted. To finish it here at this tournament is the icing on the cake. The cherry on top."
 

After a strong performance and spectacular season, the senior class of Scroggins, fellow captain Nicole Roberts, Ella Fries and Jojo Smyth has every right to partake in all of the icing, cake, and cherry-topped treats available to it tonight.
 
The Wildcats, 12-5-2, finished second in the CCAA regular-season standings for the second straight season.
 
They matched Stanislaus State shot-for-shot (15-15) and had a 10-5 edge in shots on goal.
 
Chico State dominated play early, earning the first three shots. But Cal State Stanislaus' scored the lone goal of the match following a Chico State giveaway in the final third.
 
Jordan Moineau blocked a clearance attempt, ran it down, and slipped a shot past attacking Chico State goalkeeper Mackenzie Boulton 14:31 into the match.
 
The Wildcats continued to create chances through the first half and again in the second stanza. They just couldn't put the final touch on their attack.
 
Shelby Lanksbury and Pooja Patel took five shots apiece, a combined seven of which were on goal.
 
The pair combined to set up Lindsey Dias' late header that nearly tied the match (pictured).
 
"I actually thought we played a great game on the offensive end," Lanksbury said. "It just seemed like we get five connections and then just miss the sixth, or our shot would be a little off."
 
Head Coach Kim Sutton agreed.
 
"We played a fantastic game," said Sutton. "We created a bunch of chances that just missed the mark. But credit Stanislaus for marking tight in the box and making it hard on us."
 
The Warriors improved to 12-5-3 and will play the winner of Friday's other semifinal match between UC San Diego and Sonoma State for the conference tournament crown Sunday afternoon at 12:30.
 

The Wildcats had advanced to the title match in each of their last two Conference Tournament appearances and five of seven. They just missed out this season, but the fact they even earned the chance was a surprise to many.
 
"This is a very young team, so to go this far is pretty impressive," Sutton said. "Losing our senior center back (Smyth) was a tough blow. We had some hurdles. But we learned a lot of grit and a lot of fight and I'm really proud of this group."
 
But even after being asked about her program's bright future, Sutton couldn't help but focus her thoughts on a special senior class.
 
"They are four amazing kids all with different roles," said Sutton. "Our two senior captains Nic and Cass, losing Jo was a heartbreaking loss. And Ella was sort of our unsung hero because of the way she led us from the bench. Those are four amazing kids it has been a privilege to coach.
 
The Wildcats entered the weekend ranked No. 6 in the West Region. Six will advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament. But with Point Loma likely moving into the top six with an automatic NCAA bid by winning the PacWest Conference title, Sutton felt the Wildcats needed at least one win this weekend to have a legitimate chance.
 
The field will be announced Monday at 3:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.