CHICO, Calif. — The Chico State women's soccer team played Stanislaus State to a 1-1 tie Thursday to wrap up the Wildcats' home schedule.
Today's result, along with others in the CCAA, further complicated the conference standings. The Wildcats and Warriors, both 5-2-4 for 19 points, are now in a five-way tie with Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal Poly Pomona and UC Merced. Cal State San Bernardino still leads the pack with 24 points but Cal State San Marcos only trails the Coyotes by one point followed by Cal State LA with 20. Friday will feature Cal Poly Pomona hosting Fresno Pacific and Cal State San Bernardino hosting Cal State LA.
The CCAA will take seven teams into its conference tournament beginning November 1.
Chico State (6-6-4 overall) finished today's match with an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal, with both teams taking 11 shots. Stanislaus State (7-5-3 overall) went ahead in the 25th minute when Haylee Sousa scored off an assist from Olivia Maragos, and Gabby Starr tied the match for the Wildcats with a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.
Ava Jara led the team with three shots and put two on goal. Makayla Quesada placed both of her shot attempts on frame. Charlotte Mailer played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded one save.
While the weather forecast called for rain days ago, the match saw little to no drops at University Soccer Stadium, though the field did play muddy and slippery in several areas, making shots attempts difficult.
After the Warriors took the first two shots, the 'Cats earned corner kicks in the ninth and 10th minutes around Olivia Hohnstein's shot that was stopped by a team save. Baylee Gregerson sent an attempt high in the 11th minute. Chico State added another corner in the 20th minute and a Mia Cook shot saved by Zara Mujica in the 22nd minute before Stan State moved in front on Sousa's goal. The Wildcats answered with a corner in the 26th minute and a Quesada shot saved by Mujica in the 28th minute, while the Warriors generated a corner in the 31st minute and three later shots before carrying the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
Jara gave Chico State the first chances of the second half, forcing a save in the 47th minute, missing right in the 50th minute and putting another shot on frame in the 64th minute. Stan State answered with Sousa's saved shot and a corner kick in the 66th minute, but Starr converted a penalty kick in the 72nd minute to bring the Wildcats level at 1-1. The match turned more physical over the next stretch, with multiple fouls, a Natalie Nevarez yellow card and Warriors shots from Franchesca Maiden and Aliah Avila that did not result in a goal. Chico State created late chances with a Malia Bell shot, a corner kick, a Quesada effort saved by Mujica and a Gregerson shot saved in the 86th minute, and the match remained 1-1 through the end of the second half.
The Wildcats will finish the regular season on the road for the remaining two matches, starting Saturday in the City by the Bay at San Francisco State. Kickoff is at noon.
