Debuting their sharp new kits, the Chico State men's soccer team looked good and played good Sunday afternoon, beating Holy Names University 3-1 at University Soccer. Miles Rice, Cayden Hotaling and Kristoffer Brown each scored for the Wildcats, who have now scored a dozen goals in their last four matches, winning three of them.
 
Chico State improved to 3-2-1 and handed Holy Names (1-1-3) its first loss of the season in dominating fashion, out-shooting the Hawks 13-7 and earning a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
 
The Wildcats will be back home in their final non-conference match of the season Saturday. But it's much more than that. Their showdown with Cal Poly Humboldt will mark the third and final day of filming for the nationally-televised NCAA Championship Channel docuseries The Rivalries. Film crews will be on campus at Humboldt Monday through Wednesday and Chico State Thursday through Saturday to capture stories of the history of these two programs, as well as their current student-athletes. Free food and drinks, along with LG product giveaways are planned for what is sure to be an exciting night of soccer. Kickoff for the women's match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the men's match will follow at 7. WATCH THE TRAILER FOR EPISODE 1 OF "THE RIVALRIES."
 
The Wildcats are hoping to provide plenty of highlights once again. They scored six goals in their home opener, three on Thursday at Dominican, and three more Sunday. Kristoffer Brown, who had a hat trick at Dominican, scored in his third consecutive match Sunday, and also provided an assist on Miles Rice's goal, the first of the match. Rice was coming off a hat trick 10 days prior versus Saint Martin's. Trevor Fritz assisted on Hotaling's first collegiate goal, and Bryan Manriquez assisted on Brown's goal, which put the game away.
 
The Wildcats got on the board in the 24^th minute. Brown, who was starting for the first time (after scoring five goals in the team's previous nine matches dating back to last season), took advantage of the opportunity with a great hustle play. He pressured the keeper after a long pass was played back to him and then leapt to deflect his attempted clearance. Brown then hustled to track down the ball before it rolled out of bounds on the edge of the 18. He turned a crossed the ball toward the top of the 6-yard box where three players converged at once: A Holy Names defender, the Hawks' goalkeeper, and Rice. 
 
The keeper got a hand on it and tried to push it past a hard-charging Rice, but as he flew through the air between the goalkeeper and a defender, he was got his back foot on the ball and flicked it forward and into the net. The goal was Rice's fourth of the campaign and the fifth of his career.
 
Chico State took its 1-0 lead to the half, but a mistake of their own allowed the Hawks to level the match in the 49^th minute. A giveaway near midfield gave the Hawks an opportunity in transition, and Marco Carbajal's pass put Gabriel Ventura into space behind his defender. Wildcats goalkeeper Luis Albarran, who made four saves Sunday, got caught in no-man's land following a moment of indecision, and Ventura slotted the ball home to even the contest at 1-1.
 
The Wildcats regained the lead in the 62^nd minute. Trevor Fritz got his head on an Adrian Fontanelli corner kick at the top of the 6-yard box and his shot took a deflection of a Hawks defender, the goalkeeper's fingertips, and off the crossbar. Hotaling aggressively pursued the ball while his defender was caught spectating, and when it bounced directly in front of the goal, he headed it home inside the right post for the match winner. Fritz earned the assist, his first as a collegian.
 
Brown put the match away in the 79^th minute, set up beautifully by Manriquez. With the Hawks pressing numbers forward in search of the equalizer, Manriquez stepped in front of a pass on the left flank and then lofted a long diagonal pass to Brown just inside the 18. Brown trapped the ball to keep it from an onrushing defender and then rolled a shot through the legs of the sliding goalkeeper and inside the right post for a 3-1 lead.
 
The goal was Brown's fourth in the past two matches and the sophomore's team-high fifth of the season. Brown ranks second in the CCAA in goals and second in points. He leads the CCAA in goals per match (1.25) and points per match (2.75). Manriquez's assist was his first of the season and first as a Wildcat.