The chips are being collected and the 2017 Stanislaus State women's soccer team is going All-In this season, starting the program's 20th year in Thursday night's opener against Southern Oregon. 

Thursday
Warriors vs. Southern Oregon (1-0), Warrior Stadium, 7 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video]

Saturday
Warriors at Dominican (0-0), San Rafael, 4 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video]

Monday
Warriors vs. Notre Dame de Namur (0-0), Warrior Stadium, 7 p.m.  | [Live Stats] [Live Video]

SERIES NOTES: This is the third straight year that the Warriors are facing Southern Oregon here in Turlock during the non-conference preseason. Stan State won both previous meetings, 4-0 … The Warriors are 5-0-0 against Dominican but has not played the Penguins since 2004. In those five matches, Stan State outscored Dominican, 15-0 … Stanislaus State is 5-1-1 against Notre Dame de Namur with a four-match winning streak. The Warriors have outscored the Argonauts 9-0 in the last three meetings.

SEASON OPENERS: Stanislaus has won its season openers in four of the last five years. In fact, the Warriors are 15-2-2 all-time during first match of the season.

PROGRAM MILESTONES: Stan State women's soccer enters its 20th season in 2017 since the program's inception in 1998. Stanislaus is just five victories away from the program's 200th win (195-160-33). The Warriors have posted 10-win seasons in each of the last eight years with 13 winning seasons since 2001.

POON BEGINS SENIOR YEAR CAMPAIGN: Jade Poon enters her final season with 27 career goals, fourth on the Warriors' Top 10 list. She's just one goal away from moving into the No. 2 spot, shared by Marti Teunissen and Kirsten Coleman … The 2016 All-Region second team pick also has 67 career points, third best on the career top 10 list (Teunissen is second with 78). 

PLANCARTE LEADS YOUTH MOVEMENT: Rayana Plancarte, the reigning CCAA Freshman of the Year, will lead the Warriors' youth as 13 rookies were added to the Stan State team for the new season. Of the 34 players on the roster, 25 Warriors are listed as Freshman or Sophomores (including redshirts). Plancarte made 16 starts with three goals and an assist for seven points in 2016.

MORE PROLIFIC FORWARDS: Adding to the scoring prowess of Poon and Plancarte will be fellow senior Gabriela Vargas and newcomers Ilena Rivera and Autumn Halvorsen. The latter two, both freshmen, performed tremendously well in the team's most recent scrimmage (last Friday against Fresno Pacific). Demi Gonis and Selia Torres are also expected to be in the mix for scoring goals.

MIDFIELDERS RUN DEEP ON ROSTER: According to head coach Gabriel Bolton, this is the most technical midfielder group he's had in a long time here at Stan State. Warriors like Shawna McLaughlin, Mireya Magana, Bella Rivera, Jenna Zuniga, Julia Cummings and JoJo Mageo are all fantastic at their positions. Bolton thinks this squad will be really great at holding possessions in the middle of the pitch.

WHAT'S WITH THE TEAM MOTTO?: The Warriors are All-In! And, no, they are not playing poker in the team room. However, they do have poker chips. After feeling like they didn't necessary always put forth their best efforts in 2016, the team decided they want to go All-In everyday, in games and practices. Players earn poker chips as rewards for positive performances after matches and training sessions. Bolton said: "(The chips) kind of signify that they were an example of that All-In mentality and the players have been stacking their chips since the spring. They serve as motivation for those that get the chips but also serves as motivation for those that want to make their stack a little bigger to show their commitment to the team."

IMPROVED BACKFIELD: It's scary to think this is a better defensive team than last year's squad that recorded eight shutouts, but Bolton thinks the returning players are better and the newbies are playing at a high level. "Our fans will notice our backline and our goalkeepers are going to be fantastic. Returning players in these positions have really improved," Bolton said. Goalkeeper Alyssa Herrman is challenging for starting time at the net with Haley Crook, who posted a 0.86 GAA with seven shutouts in 2016. Sophomore Micaela Brewer will see playing time along with Clarissa Sandoval as well as newcomers Kassandra Le and Sadie Montague (transfer from Fresno State).

SEEKING ANOTHER POSTSEASON TRIP: Like everyone else, the team's ultimate goal is to win a national championship — and that road first goes through the CCAA tournament. The Warriors are looking for their eighth CCAA appearance this November (team has also made the postseason each year since 2010). Stan State has two CCAA banners hanging on the wall just outside of the team room at Warrior Stadium and the Warriors like nothing more than to add another … Bolton said: "Our goal is of course to win a championship, but beyond that our goal is just to become the best version of ourselves and to strive for that every day. The things like winning the CCAA and the NCAA tournament matches, or any of those accomplishments, happen because we work hard and we keep improving as the season goes on."

ROAD WARRIORS IN SEPTEMEBR: After this week's three matches, the Warriors will play their next five contests away from home until a date with San Francisco State on Sept. 24 in Turlock. The schedule takes the Warriors across the boarder North to British Columbia (Sept. 8 at Simon Fraser) and Central Washington (Sept. 10). They open CCAA play on the road at Cal State San Marcos (Sept. 15), UC San Diego (Sept. 17) and Chico State (Sept. 20) before the next home game at Warrior Stadium.

ABOUT THE OPPONETS: Southern Oregon (1-0-0) is coached by former Warrior Jenni Rosenberg, who played and coach at Stan State. The Raiders beat Oregon Tech 2-0 on Aug. 24 behind goals by Yvonne Valencia and Makena Totushek. SOU, located in Ashland, Ore., is a member of the NAIA's Cascade Collegiate Conference … Dominican opens its season against the Warriors on Saturday. The Penguins (7-7-4 overall in 2016) were picked to finished eighth in the PacWest. Top scorer Mariah Meza (5 goals, 3 assists) returns for her senior year … Notre Dame de Namur will play home matches this weekend before traveling to Turlock for the Monday night match. The Argonauts were 7-9-2 in 2016 and are picked to finish ninth in the PacWest. Alina Martinez, Susan Whitney (2016 Freshman of the Year with 8 goals, 11 assists) and Vanessa Sanchez were all selected to the preseason All-PacWest team.