Two straight wins against UC San Diego—in the regular-season finale, on Senior Day, and in its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament opener—marked two of the biggest highlights of the Chico State men's soccer team's 2018 campaign. In fact, some of the program's biggest victories in the last two decades have come against the Tritons, including the 2003 CCAA Championship Tournament title match and the NCAA Championship West Regional opener the following week.
 
Friday at 4:30 p.m., in La Jolla, they'll meet for what might be the very last time. The Division-I bound Tritons are in the midst of their final season in Division II and the CCAA.
 
That's certainly not the only significance of this match. The Wildcats are coming off a two-match streak of another kind, having dropped a pair of matches at home last weekend, and are hoping to get back headed in the right direction.
 
UC San Diego (9-3-0, 4-2-0 CCAA) is currently fourth in the conference standings, while Chico State (7-3-0, 3-3-0) is in a three-way tie for fifth. The top six teams in the final standings will advance to the CCAA Tournament. The top two teams earn a first-round bye, the next two will host a first-round match, and the other two will open the postseason on the road.
 
Following Friday's match, the Wildcats will face Cal State San Marcos Sunday at 2 p.m. in their penultimate road match of the season. At 4-6-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the CCAA, the Cougars are a point behind the Wildcats in eighth place.
 
The match will mark just the fifth time these teams have met. Chico State is 3-0-1 all-time against the Cougars.
 
Links to live stats and streaming video for both matches are available at www.chicowildcats.com.
 
After this weekend, the Wildcats will be at Stanislaus State Wednesday, October 30, before returning home to play their final three regular-season matches at University Soccer Stadium.