The Chico State men's soccer team's impressive late-season push began with a 2-0 win against Cal State San Bernardino. Tuesday night at 6, the Wildcats will begin what they hope will be a long postseason push when they host the Coyotes in the opening round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament at University Soccer Stadium.
The winner of that match will advance to the Conference Tournament semifinals to face UC San Diego Friday in Turlock.
CCAA Tournament Info
Seedings:
1. UC San Diego (9-2-1) – 28 pts.
2. Sonoma State (8-2-2) – 26 pts.
3. Cal Poly Pomona (8-3-1) – 25 pts.
4. Chico State (7-3-2) – 23 pts.
5. Cal State San Bernardino (7-4-1) – 22 pts.
6. Cal State L.A. (7-5-0) –21 pts.
First-round bye
UC San Diego
Sonoma State
First-round matchups:
6:00 p.m.: #5 Cal State San Bernardino at
#4 Chico State
7:00 p.m.: #6 Cal State L.A. at #3 Cal Poly Pomona
Semifinals (Warrior Stadium on the campus of Stanislaus State in Turlock):
11:00 a.m.: #2 Sonoma State vs. Cal Poly Pomona/Cal State L.A. winner
1:30 p.m.: #1 UC San Diego vs.
Chico State/Cal State San Bernardino winner
Final (Warrior Stadium on the campus of Stanislaus State in Turlock):
12:30 p.m.: Semifinal Winners
Championship Tournament homepage:
2016 CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament
Tuesday night match links:
Streaming Video
Live Stats
Tuesday night ticket information:
Tickets for the match are: $6 for general admission; $4 for seniors and non-Chico State students; and $2 for Chico State students and children 18-and-under. Because this is a postseason match, Chico State students will not be admitted for free via conference policy.
Match Preview
The Wildcats, who won seven of their last eight to end the season, beginning with their win against Cal State San Bernardino, are playing for more than just the banner that goes to the winner of the CCAA Tournament. Ranked No. 8 in the West in the first NCAA Regional poll, posted last Wednesday, they are trying to climb into the top six. Six
teams from the region will advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament. That announcement will come the day after the conference tournament championship match, on Monday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m.
Chico State also beat fellow tournament participants Cal Poly Pomona and Sonoma State while outscoring its opponents 17-5 during the final eight-match stretch of the regular season. The Wildcats' only loss during that time came against Cal State L.A.
"We had to learn from our mistakes. That big game against San Bernardino really opened the door," forward Rajaee DeLane told Sharon Martin of the Chico Enterprise-Record. "That game gave us confidence as a team. We're thankful to be in this situation."
The win against Cal State San Bernardino followed an arduous six-match road trip in which the Wildcats went 0-3-3. It also began a stretch in which the team began getting scoring from throughout the roster.
Prior to that win, Omar Nuño had accounted for all five of the Wildcats' tallies, and only Dylan Wakefield had recorded an assist. Since then, nine different Wildcats have found the back of the net. Nuño has five more goals, making him the first Wildcat to reach double digits in consecutive seasons since Major League Soccer star Chris Wondolowski in 2002 and 2003. Wakefield, DeLane, Esten Schroeder and Frankie Palmer have all tallied twice during that eight-game stretch.
Meanwhile, nine players have at least one assist during the last eight matches. Alex Fluitt, who tallied two assists against Cal State San Bernardino in his first collegiate start, now has five helpers. Nuño and DeLane have dished out three apiece.
Chico State's defense has stiffened up quite a bit as well. The Wildcats have allowed just one first-half goal during that stretch, and starting goalkeeper Damion Lewis has lowered his goals-against average to 0.75.
