The first three weeks of the Chico State men's soccer team's regular season have each featured highs and lows. The Wildcats opened the season with a nice win against Seattle Pacific before a 1-0 loss to Western Washington two nights later. They beat Concordia 2-0 at home the following week, but settled for a 2-2 draw at Fresno Pacific that Saturday. And last weekend, the Wildcats opened California Collegiate Athletic Association play with a 1-0 loss to Cal State LA before rebounding with a 2-0 win against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
This weekend the Wildcats (3-2-1, 1-1-0 CCAA) are hoping to put together two good results in a row. They travel to play Cal State Monterey Bay Friday at 3 p.m. in Seaside, and Cal State East Bay, Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in Hayward.
Sunday's match will be broadcast nationally on Eleven Sports USA, available on national cable systems such as DIREC TV (channel 623), AT&T U-verse (channel 1665), and Verizon Fios (channel 597). Eleven Sports can be found on various other cable and OTT providers such as Google Fiber 251, RCN 571, Atlantic Broadband 501, and Hawaiian Telcom 1091. According to the company, Eleven Sports is available in 55 million homes.
A live stream of the match is also available online and will be viewable on demand one hour after its completion.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
Chico State at Cal State Monterey Bay
3 p.m. PDT, Otter Sports Complex, Seaside
• Webcast: NA
• LiveStats:
https://otterathletics.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Chico State at Cal State East Bay
11:30 a.m. PDT, Pioneer Stadium, Hayward
• Television: DIREC TV (channel 623), AT&T U-verse (1665), Verizon Fios (597)
• Webcast:
http://baosn.tv/
• LiveStats:
https://eastbaypioneers.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
Wildcats News
Chico State is ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches West Regional rankings, up one spot from last week.
Statistically, the Wildcats have played better than their 3-2-1 record indicates. They have outscored their opponents 8-4 and boast a 31-16 edge in shots on goal.
Forward Jeremiah Egujie is one of seven players atop the CCAA leaderboard in goals with four. Goalkeeper Damion Lewis is tied for third in the conference with three shutouts and tied for fourth with a 0.643 goals-against average.
As a team, the Wildcats are fourth in goals-against average (0.67) in ninth in scoring (1.33 goals per match).
Scouting the Opponents
Cal State Monterey Bay (1-4-0, 0-2-0 CCAA)—The Otters, who finished 11th in the CCAA last season, have struggled to win matches out of the gate. But they have been in every match. Two of their losses have come in overtime, and the other two were 2-1 losses on the road last weekend at Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego, which are both ranked among the region's top five.
The Otters rank 10th in the CCAA in scoring average (1.20 goals per match), and scoring defense (1.60).
Chico State leads the all-time series between the squads 15-7-2. The Wildcats' 3-0 win last season at home stretched their unbeaten streak against Cal State Monterey Bay to four. The last time they met in Seaside (where the Wildcats are 5-4-2) the match ended in a scoreless draw.
Cal State East Bay (1-3-1, 0-1-1 CCAA)—The Pioneers are coming off a 4-12-2 campaign in which they finished 1-10-1 and in 12th place in the CCAA. They are only 1-3-1 overall this season, but coming off one of their most impressive results since joining the CCAA in 2009—Sunday's scoreless draw at 14th-ranked UC San Diego. They fell just 1-0 against unbeaten Cal State San Marcos Friday.
Chico State leads the series against its former Northern California Athletic Conference rival (Cal State East Bay was known as Cal State Hayward back then) 44-14-7. The Wildcats are unbeaten (11-0-4) in their last 15 against the Pioneers and 20-1-4 in their last 25. They're 5-0-1 in their last six in Hayward and have not lost there, or to the Pioneers, since Sept. 25, 1996.
The Wildcats won last season's meeting 6-2 in Chico.
The Pioneers will open the weekend at home against Stanislaus State Friday.
