CHICO, Calif. - The Wildcats earned the opportunity to host the first round of the 2024 CCAA Men's Soccer Championship, claiming the third seed after toppling Stanislaus St. 2-0 on Thursday. Cal State East Bay was forced to travel north to Chico to take on the Wildcats in the opening round.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers brought the energy and offense to snuff out the 'Cats' chances of progressing to the semi-final round in Hayward.

Chico State saw glimpses of chances throughout the first half, putting the ball in dangerous areas across both wings and unable to threaten the Pioneers' goal.

A shot from distance in the 42nd minute from a CSUEB striker dipped beneath a diving Emanuel Padilla, giving the visitors the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

The Pioneer's defense would continue to shut down any chance in front of the goal from the Wildcats, and their offense continued to pressure Padilla and the back line. 

Two shots were produced from the home team, with plenty of chances from corner kicks after earning ten throughout the match.

This concludes the regular season for the Chico State men's soccer team, and they will await the conclusion of the conference tournament to discover their fate in the NCAA Regional selection show. On November 18th, the NCAA will select the forty teams participating in the NCAA Super Regional rounds. The Wildcats are still hopeful they can slip into the ten teams selected.