Preview Story, by Brian VanderBeek on ModestoBee.com

CCAA foes Cal State Stanislaus and Cal Poly Pomona will meet in Golden, Colo., and square-off in a neutral site match on Friday to determine the 2014 West Region Championship.

Friday, Nov. 21, 1:30 p.m. Pacific (2:30 p.m. Mountain Time)
NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships Third Round/West Region Championship
vs. Cal Poly Pomona, CSM Soccer Stadium, Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]

Bellingham Sub-Regional: The No. 4 seeded Warriors upended No. 1 Western Washington, 1-0, in the second round last Saturday after defeating No. 5 Seattle Pacific, 2-1, in double overtime Thursday night to win that half of the West bracket.

Los Angeles Sub-Regional: No. 3 seeded Cal Poly Pomona defeated No. 6 Point Loma Nazarene, 3-2, last Thursday night and edged No. 2 Cal State L.A., 1-0, on Saturday to advance out of the bracket.

At Stake: Winner of this match will advance to the NCAA national quarterfinals and face South Central Region winner, either Colorado School of Mines or Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday at 3 p.m. MST. The winner will then advances to the semifinals and finals in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 4 and 6.

Program's First NCAA Wins: The Warriors now have two NCAA tournament victories after last Saturday's triumph over Western Washington. Last Thursday nights' victory over Seattle Pacific was the Stanislaus women's soccer program's first W during the NCAA tournament in three tries. All three matches were in overtime and in 2011 Chico State eliminated the Warriors in penalty kick shootouts. Last season, Cal State San Bernardino surprised Stanislaus, 1-0, in overtime, at home at Warrior Stadium.

Another Cold Weather Trip: The Warriors will embark on another journey, out of the warmth of the California sun, for the second straight week as they travel to Golden, Colo. Temperature at the base of the Rocky Mountains are expected to be in the low 40s during the day and will drop as low as the teens at night. Game time on Friday will be in the upper 30s but no precipitation is in the forecast, for now.

Travel Plans: The Warriors will fly out to Denver from Sacramento Wednesday, arriving in Golden late Wednesday evening. The team will hold practice Thursday afternoon.

Benson's Perfect Strike: Senior forward Tina Benson scored the only goal needed on Saturday when she hit a perfect strike from 10 yards out past WWU's goalkeeper Ashley Haden. Benson had gotten the touch-back from Kirsten Coleman at the goal line and blasted it for her second score of the season.

Poon the Freshman Sensation: Jade Poon became the first Cal State Stanislaus freshman to score a goal during the NCAA tournament last Thursday. Her score in the 52nd minute was of highlight-material. From a Sabrina Williamson corner kick, Jordan Moineau headed into the box over more than a half dozen SPU defenders to find Poon, who was just in front of the 'Keeper. Poon, with the goal to her back, flip it backwards for the go-ahead goal. Scan the QR code to the right to see the video.

All-CCAA Stars: Joining Jade Poon on the All-CCAA first team were defender Karli Nestler and second team honoree Lauren Thornton, as they led the Stanislaus defense. Warriors making the list for honorable mention were GK Chelsea Lewandowski, F Mikayla Clifford, F Kirsten Coleman, D Maryssa McDuffy and D Nichole Donald.

Warriors In the Rankings: The Warriors had spent 22 consecutive regular season weeks in the NSCAA Top 25, dating back to the 2012 season until the streak was snapped in Week 7. They made a brief return to the poll in week 8 but dropped out again prior to the conference tournament.

Road Warriors: The Warriors have been extremely successful on the road in recent years. After last week's two wins on the road, they are now 24-3-4 over the last 31 matches, which dated back to the middle of the 2011 season. A 25-match unbeaten streak was snapped on Sept. 28 at Cal State Monterey Bay.

A Visit Out of the Region: The Warriors ventured out of state last week for the first time since 2012 and now they will travel even future. This will be the Warriors first trip out of the region and East of the Rocky Mountains.

Blanking Opponents: The Warriors blanked their foes 10 times in 2014, including the 3 of the last 4 matches. They are coming off a shutout of Western Washington (outscored opponents 32-6) on Saturday. Chelsea Lewandowski has seven of those shutouts with 17 in her career.

Overtime Magic: The Warriors are now 3-1-1 in five overtime matches in 2014. Thursday night's win was their second double-OT victory this season (Sonoma State, Oct. 5, 4-3). In fact, over the last three seasons, the Warriors are 9-2-3 in extra time games.

Prolific Offense: The Warriors are among the nation's top scoring teams with a 2.17 goals per match and 40 goals total. Stanislaus ranks third in the CCAA in scoring, six goals behind leader Cal State L.A. … Ten different players have scored goals this season with Jade Poon leading with 14 (six game-winners). Kirsten Coleman and Mikayla Clifford have eight and seven goals, respectively.

Series Notes: The Warriors and the Broncos met back on Oct. 12 in Pomona with Cal Poly Pomona edging the Warriors, 1-0. Ali Sauve scored the goal. Cal Poly Pomona is now 11-5-1 against the Warriors all-time.

Cal Poly Pomona in the Postseason: Ali Sauve scored a dramatic last-minute goal in the first round to lift the Broncos over Point Loma. Pomona then beat host Cal State L.A., 1-0, last Saturday to advance. The Broncos also played in the CCAA Championship tournament and lost to Chico State, 1-0, in the semifinals … Thursday's NCAA win was the program's first since 2001. They also made the 1999 tournament.

Martinez Was the Hero: Melissa Martinez scored the only goal in the win over Cal State L.A. on Saturday. Her left-footed goal, her sixth of the year, came at 73:19.

About Cal Poly Pomona: Like the Warriors, Cal Poly Pomona boasts a strong offense with 34 goals this season. The Broncos also have the third best GAA among teams in the CCAA at 0.70, just 0.02 points behind Cal State Stanislaus … Ali Sauve, an All-CCAA pick, leads the team with seven goals and Martinez now has six … Freshman goalkeeper Ricki Ives has played in every second this season. In nearly 1930 minutes, she has a 0.70 GAA and a .803 saves percentage.