The men's soccer postseason doesn't technically start until Sunday. But it feels like the playoffs are already underway for the Chico State men's soccer team. The Wildcats head into their final match of the regular season Thursday at 2 p.m. at Cal Poly Humboldt with their season hanging in the balance. Fortunately, their fate is in their own hands. A win or tie would cement Chico State's status in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. A loss, along with a Cal State San Marcos victory over Cal State San Bernardino and a Sonoma State win or tie against San Francisco State would leave the Wildcats' fate up to the conference's complicated tiebreaking scenarios.
The Wildcats would prefer to take care of business themselves, something they've been quite adept at this season, specifically on the road, where they have lost only once in eight tries. The Wildcats are 6-4-7 overall and 3-2-5 in CCAA play. They are in fifth place in the conference standings with 14 points and cannot climb higher. Sonoma State is in sixth with 13 points, and Cal State San Marcos is seventh with 11. Two of those teams will hit the road for a CCAA Tournament opener Sunday either at Cal State Monterey Bay or in Southern California against Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, or Cal State Dominguez Hills. That determination will be made as soon as the smoke clears of the final CCAA matchday of the campaign.
Thursday's match will be broadcast on the CCAA Network and live stats are also available. Links can be found at
www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section on the homepage and on the men's soccer schedule page. Access to the live video stream requires a subscription fee that grants users access to every CCAA event on the network, home and away.
Cal Poly Humboldt is out of the postseason picture at 3-7-7 overall and 2-5-3 in the CCAA, but would undoubtedly love to play spoiler against the Wildcats. The teams played to a scoreless draw in a September 17 non-conference match in Chico. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 52-15-7. They are 12-1-1 in their last 14 scuffles with the Lumberjacks.
The Wildcats will again lean on their stingy defense and senior goalkeeper Luis Albarran. They rank second in the CCAA with an opponent's goals-against average of 0.65. Offensively, they are in the middle of the pack, having averaged 1.235 goals per match. Cal Poly Humboldt ranks fourth in scoring (1.412 goals per match) and eight in goals allowed (1.41 per match).
