HAYWARD, Calif.--- After playing five games in ten day including defeating then No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona 2-0, Stan State finished 4-1 and clinched a spot in the 2024 CCAA Soccer Championships. The Warriors' only loss was a 2-0 blemish this afternoon to the Cal State East Bay Pioneers in Hayward, Calif.
FIRST HALF: Cal State East Bay (9-5-3, 5-3-2 CCAA) took the early 1-0 just two minutes into the match when Abigail Kern connected on a ball from Mika Sayfurahman. Stan State had a chance to tie the match in the 23
rd minute when
Kaley Miller's shot on goal attempt was stopped by the Pioneers' Ashley Levi. The hosts had a chance to double their lead five minutes later when
Natalia Ochoa stopped Madeline Bister's shot attempt. Levi made another save in the 32
nd minute stopping
Kayla Perez's shot on goal attempt. Stan State (9-6-2, 6-4 CCAA) had two more chances in the final minutes in the half be stopped by Levi. The first by
Arionna Imhoff and the second by
Sabrina Cabrera as the match went into the half with the hosts leading 1-0.
SECOND HALF: The hosts came out strong in the second half as Morgan Pearson's shot was stopped by the Warriors' keeper in the 47
th minute. They doubled their lead on a goal by Gabby Rodii off a pass from Abigail Kern and Lexie Randolph in the 78
th minute. The Warriors had two chances to cut into the deficit but Ashley Levi stopped both
Makeila Yancey's and
Sabrina Cabrera's shot on goal attempts as the Pioneers took the 2-0 victory.
TENTH TIME: Stan State clinched its tenth appearance in the CCAA Soccer Championships this weekend by going 1-1. The Warriors lost in the First Round last season 2-1 to Cal Poly Humboldt in overtime. Two years ago, Stan State lost 1-0 to Cal State Los Angeles in the CCAA semi-finals. In 2019, Stan State defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 in overtime in the semi-finals and lost to No. 10 Sonoma State 2-1 in the final.
THIRD PLACE: Heading into the final match of the regular season, the Warriors are in third place just one point out of second place (Cal State Los Angeles-19 points). They are just one point ahead of Cal State East Bay (17 points), who is in fourth place. There are six teams vying for the final two spots for the CCAA Championships.
The top six teams at the end of the regular season on November 7 will receive a bid to the CCAA Soccer Championships, Nov. 10, 15-17. The first round will be held on November 10 at the sites of the number three and four seeds. The top two seeds receive a first-round bye. The semi-finals are set for November 15 in Arcata, Calif., on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt. The championship match will take place on November 17 at 11:00 a.m. in Arcata, Calif.
SNAPPED AT SIX: Stan State had its six-match winning streak snapped today in a 2-0 loss to Cal State East Bay. The Warriors had an eight-match winning streak in 2014, when they finished the season 16-4-2. That streak ran from Sept. 4, 2014, with a 3-2 overtime win over Cal Baptist and ended with a 1-0 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay on Sept. 28.
UP NEXT: The Warriors will return home for their final regular season this Thursday, November 7 at 11:30 a.m. against Chico State. The Wildcats lost both of their matches this weekend at Cal State East Bay (2-1) and Cal State San Marcos (2-1).
