SAN BERNARDINO—With everything still to play for in the wide-open race for the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title, the Chico State women's soccer team picked up a huge win in its penultimate road match of the regular season Sunday. Mackenzie Gill poked home a Nicole Fairbanks cross in the 28^th minute and the Wildcats defense pitched its ninth shutout in a 1-0 win at Cal State San Bernardino. 
 
The win put the Wildcats into a tie with Cal State San Marcos for second place at 4-2-2 in conference play with 14 points, just two behind conference leader Cal State LA (16). That's heading into the afternoon slate during which third-place Sonoma State and Cal Poly Pomona will play. Those teams are momentarily tied for fourth with 13 points.
 
Chico State is 7-3-4 overall. Cal State San Bernardino had been 5-1-1 with five shutouts at home prior to Sunday's match. The Coyotes dropped into a tie for sixth with Sunday's loss. The top six teams in terms of points will earn berths in the CCAA Tournament, which begins two weeks from Sunday.
 
The Wildcats became just the third team to score against the Coyotes at home thanks to several great individual efforts. A Taylor Russell takeaway at midfield led to Natalie Mendoza's quick pass in transition. A Cal State San Bernardino defender got a head on the ball, deflecting it out to the left flank, but the Wildcats were still on the attack. Susanna Garcia won the race to the ball and played it outside to Fairbanks on an overlapping run down the sideline. 
 
With the defense on its heels, Fairbanks turned up the pressure with a one-timed cross into the box. The first defender deflected the ball toward the far post, and when a diving goalkeeper couldn't corral it, Gill made a nifty move to twist around the keeper and guide the ball home with the right side of her foot with her back to the goalpost.
 
That marked her team-leading fourth goal. The assist was Fairbanks' first.
 
Fairbanks also made a big contribution on the defensive end, joining fellow backline defenders Klayre Barres, Russell, and Emilia Kling in playing the full 90 minutes. Goalkeeper Emma Hoffman, Brynn Howard, and Hannah Pieri (who made her first collegiate start) played the full 90 as well. 
 
Hofmann made six saves for her eighth shutout of the season and 18^th of her career in 32 matches. 
 
The Wildcats will wrap up the regular season, and their CCAA title chase, with three more matches. They host Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday at 7 p.m. and Cal State Monterey Bay Sunday at 2 p.m. before their regular-season finale on Thursday, Oct. 27, at Cal Poly Humboldt.