The Chico State women's soccer team is hoping to keep one streak alive and put an end to another this week. The Wildcats, who have played to two scoreless draws to open the season, anticipate an offensive breakthrough Thursday at home against Seattle Pacific and Saturday at Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Thursday's match at University Soccer Stadium will kickoff at 7 p.m. The match at Dominican is set to start at noon.
The Wildcats rank in the middle of the California Collegiate Athletic Association pack with 25 shots through two matches, but they have yet to find the back of the net. At least some of that is due in part to bad luck. The Wildcats have twice hit the crossbar and twice had shots saved off the line by an opposing defender.
Meanwhile, their defense has been outstanding. Chico State's defense surrendered only two shots in their season opener, and true freshman Vic Graham was outstanding in the second match, saving seven shots.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Chico State vs. Seattle Pacific
7 p.m. PDT, University Soccer Stadium, Chico
• Webcast:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/chico/
• LiveStats: http://www.chicowildcats.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Chico State at Dominican University
Noon PDT, Kennelly Field, San Rafael
• Webcast:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/dominican/
• LiveStats:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/dominican/
Wildcats News
Chico State takes a 16-match home unbeaten streak into Thursday's match. During that stretch the Wildcats have outscored their guests 30-9. In their last seven hours on the home pitch, the Wildcats have allowed just one goal and registered three shutouts over the course of those four matches. Defender Abbie Jones has been a key part of that trend, having played every minute. The Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the inaugural United Soccer Coaches West Region poll of the season.
Scouting the Opponents
Seattle Pacific (2-0-0) — The Falcons, ranked No. 6 in the West, are off to a strong start, having dispatched of both Cal Poly Pomona and Minnesota-State Moorhead 2-0 last week at home.
That team finished 10-7-0 overall and had its nation-best streak of 14 straight NCAA Championship Tournament berths come to an end. The Falcons were picked to finish third in this season's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
Seattle Pacific leads the all-time series between these squads 10-2-3. The Wildcats beat the Falcons 1-0 in 2016, the last time these teams met at University Soccer Stadium. Last season in Seattle, the Falcons came back from a two-goal deficit with three goals in the final four minutes to win 3-2.
Dominican (0-1-1) — The Penguins opened the season with a 1-1 tie at Sonoma State last Thursday before falling 1-0 to Humboldt State two days later in Rohnert Park.
Dominican went 7-8-3 in 2017 thanks to a strong finish in which they won five of their last six matches. The Penguins were picked to finish seventh in the PacWest Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
Chico State is 5-0-0 all-time against the Penguins. When they met last season in Chico, Erin Woods and Jamie Ikeda both scored for the Wildcats in a 2-0 victory.
