TURLOCK, Calif.---Fresh off a 2-1 victory over Central Valley rival UC Merced, Stan State men's soccer continues its push toward the CCAA postseason with two important conference matches this week. The Warriors (3-5-5, 1-3-3 CCAA) host Cal Poly Pomona (4-4-5, 2-2-3 CCAA) on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m. at Warrior Stadium in a Latinx Heritage Night celebration before traveling to Atherton on Saturday, Oct. 17, to face Menlo (6-4-2, 4-2-1 CCAA) at 3 p.m. at Wunderlich Field. Stan State enters the week with six conference points, just three behind Cal Poly Pomona in the race for one of the seven CCAA Tournament berths.

POWELL IN FOURTH SEASON AT HELM
Stan State head coach John Powell is in his fourth season leading his alma mater and sixth season overall as a collegiate head coach. Powell enters Thursday's match with a 31-22-15 record at Stan State. His 31 victories rank third in program history behind Dana Taylor (91) and Eric Mild (42).

Powell guided the Warriors to a historic 17-2-1 season in 2025, capturing the program's first CCAA Tournament Championship since 2012 and advancing to the NCAA Division II Third Round for the deepest postseason run in program history. The Warriors also spent two weeks ranked No. 1 nationally and established a program-record 14-match unbeaten streak.

Five Warriors earned United Soccer Coaches All-America honors in 2025. Gerardo Flores and Ian Reis were named First Team All-Americans, Angel Ruiz-Hernandez and Samuel Villanueva earned Second Team honors, and Emmanuel Duran was selected to the Third Team. Powell was named CCAA Coach of the Year, while the Stan State staff earned United Soccer Coaches West Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

LAST WEEK'S RECAP
Stan State earned its first CCAA victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Central Valley rival UC Merced Sunday at Warrior Stadium. Jose Ponce gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute with his first goal of the season before the Bobcats tied the match early in the second half. Kenneth Solares stole the ball and scored the game-winner in the 71st minute for his first goal of the season. Solares led Stan State with four shots, including two on goal, while Dylan Isasi recorded two saves in the victory.

The Warriors' defensive unit of David Lozano, Eric Reis, Christian Brenes, Federico Barbieri, Jose Tizoc and Hugo Canedo helped preserve the victory, holding UC Merced scoreless over the final 38 minutes. Stan State improved to 3-5-5 overall and 1-3-3 in CCAA play, snapping a seven-match winless streak and moving within three points of the seventh and final CCAA Tournament position.

WARRIORS IN REVIEW
Stan State enters the week 3-5-5 overall and 1-3-3 in CCAA play following Sunday's 2-1 victory over Central Valley rival UC Merced. The Warriors have scored 17 goals with 18 assists through 13 matches, averaging 1.31 goals and 11.8 shots per match. Stan State is 3-1-4 at Warrior Stadium this season.

Alexis Cervantes leads the Warriors with six goals and 12 points, along with a team-high 31 shots and 14 shots on goal. Adrian Yepez follows with three goals and a team-leading four assists for 10 points. Emmanuel Duran and Jose Ponce each have five points, with Duran recording two goals and one assist and Ponce contributing one goal and three assists. Gerardo Flores and Kenneth Solares each have three points.

Isasi has played all 1,170 minutes in goal, recording 41 saves, a 1.46 goals-against average, a .683 save percentage and two shutouts. The Warriors have allowed 19 goals through 13 matches, including just two over their last three contests.

CCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS
As a team, Stan State ranks fourth in the CCAA in goals-against average, allowing 19 goals through 13 matches for a 1.46 average, and sixth in assists with 18, averaging 1.38 per match. Individually, Cervantes ranks fifth in the CCAA with 31 shots, ninth with six goals and eighth with 14 shots on goal. Yepez ranks eighth in the conference with 30 shots and 10th with four assists.

CLIMBING THE WARRIOR RECORD BOOK
Several current Warriors continue to climb the Stan State career record book. Yepez has eight goals and 12 assists for 28 career points, just one point away from tying Josh Santillan and Samuel Villanueva for ninth on the career points list. His 12 assists rank third in program history.

Cervantes has 11 career goals and 25 career points, with his 11 goals tied for 10th in program history. Cervantes also has six goals this season and is one goal away from tying for ninth on Stan State's single-season goals list.

Duran has 12 career goals, tying Tony Amaral for eighth, and 28 career points, leaving him one point shy of the career top 10. Flores has 10 career goals and seven assists for 27 points, putting him one goal away from tying for 10th in career goals and two points shy of the career top 10 in points.

CCAA STANDINGS
With five regular-season matches remaining, Stan State remains in contention for one of the seven spots in the CCAA Tournament. The Warriors enter the week with six points at 1-3-3 in conference play, just three points behind Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State East Bay and UC Merced, who are tied with nine points. Thursday's 4 p.m. home match against Pomona provides Stan State an opportunity to pull even with the Broncos in the conference standings.
Cal State LA leads the CCAA with 22 points at 7-0-1, followed by Cal State San Bernardino with 18 and Saturday's opponent, Menlo, with 13. Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State San Marcos and Cal State Dominguez Hills each have 12 points. Pomona, East Bay and UC Merced are tied with nine points, followed by Stan State and Fresno Pacific with six apiece.

The top seven teams advance to the 2026 CCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, with the No. 1 seed receiving a first-round bye into the semifinals. First-round matches will be played Sunday, Nov. 1, at the higher-seeded teams' home
sites, with the semifinals Friday, Nov. 6, and the championship match Sunday, Nov. 8, at Kellogg Stadium in Pomona.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE UNDER POWELL
Stan State has posted a 15-9-9 record at Warrior Stadium since head coach John Powell took over the program in 2023. The Warriors went 8-1-1 at home during their historic 2025 season and are 3-1-4 in Turlock this season. Stan State has earned points in 15 of its last 18 home matches dating back to the beginning of the 2025 season, posting an 11-2-5 record during that stretch. The Warriors enter Thursday's match against Cal Poly Pomona having lost just twice at home over the past two seasons.

NCAA POWER INDEX (NPI) AND POSTSEASON SELECTION
The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship selection show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9. The winner of the CCAA Tournament will receive the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while other teams will compete for at-large selections based on the NCAA Power Index (NPI).

In the latest NPI rankings through Oct. 11, Stan State is ranked No. 30 in Super Region IV and No. 110 nationally with an NPI of 49.668. Thursday's opponent, Cal Poly Pomona, is No. 87 nationally (51.082), while Saturday's opponent, Menlo, is No. 92 (50.639).

Super Region IV consists of teams from the CCAA, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), Pacific West Conference (PacWest), Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and Lone Star Conference. The top 10 teams in the region are Cal State LA (No. 1 nationally), Midwestern State (No. 2), CSU Pueblo (No. 3), Seattle Pacific (No. 8), Cal State San Bernardino (No. 12), UCCS (No. 15), Regis (No. 16), Northwest Nazarene (No. 27), Cal State Monterey Bay (No. 32) and Fort Lewis (No. 33).

The NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, Nov. 12, with first-round matches.

SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
Cal Poly Pomona enters Thursday's 4 p.m. CCAA matchup at Warrior Stadium with a 4-4-5 overall record and a 2-2-3 mark in conference play. The Broncos have nine CCAA points, three ahead of Stan State, and are coming off a 3-1 home loss to Menlo on Sunday. Pomona is 1-3-3 on the road this season and has gone 1-1-3 in its last five matches.

The Broncos have scored 18 goals in 13 matches while allowing 21, averaging 1.38 goals and 13.2 shots per match. Pomona has recorded 12 assists, 61 shots on goal and 51 corner kicks. The Broncos have scored 12 of their 18 goals in the second half.

Marvin Gamez leads Pomona with seven goals and two assists for 16 points, including four game-winning goals. He has taken a team-high 41 shots, with 23 on goal, and is 3-for-3 on penalty kicks. Clement Badger and Esteban Salais each have two goals and one assist for five points, while Jose Garcia leads the Broncos with three assists.

In goal, Jack Chapman has started 11 matches and appeared in 12, posting a 4-3-4 record with 42 saves, a 1.55 goals-against average, a .712 save percentage and two shutouts. Kaden Gust has appeared in three matches, recording four saves and a 2.00 goals-against average.

Thursday's match is an important one in the CCAA standings, with the Warriors looking to pull even with the Broncos at nine conference points.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CAL POLY POMONA
Cal Poly Pomona leads the all-time series against Stan State 13-4-3 dating back to Sept. 21, 2007. The Warriors are 2-5-3 against the Broncos in Turlock and 2-7 in Pomona. Stan State is unbeaten in the last two meetings (1-0-1), including a 1-0 road victory on Oct. 12, 2025, that snapped a 10-match winless streak against the Broncos.

In last year's meeting at Kellogg Stadium, Sebastian Carbajal scored the match's only goal in the 58th minute off assists from Gerardo Flores and Adrian Yepez. The Warriors' defense held Pomona scoreless despite being outshot 14-8, with Stan State recording five saves in the shutout. The victory improved the Warriors to 9-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in CCAA play at the time.

The teams played to a 1-1 draw in their last meeting at Warrior Stadium on Oct. 27, 2024. Pomona took an early lead on Max Laguna's penalty kick in the 15th minute before Elio Corral scored the equalizer in the 29th minute off an assist from Yepez. Stan State goalkeeper Angel Ruiz-Hernandez recorded seven saves as the Warriors earned the draw despite being outshot 22-13.

Stan State's last home victory over Pomona came on Oct. 6, 2013, when the Warriors earned a 2-1 decision. Thursday's match will mark the 21st all-time meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING MENLO
Menlo enters Saturday's 3 p.m. CCAA match-up at Wunderlich Field in Atherton with a 6-4-2 overall record and a 4-2-1 mark in conference play. The Oaks are coming off a 3-1 road victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday after suffering a 3-0 setback at Cal State San Bernardino on Friday. Menlo is 3-2-1 at home this season and has won four of its last five matches.

The Oaks have scored 23 goals in 12 matches while allowing 21, averaging 1.92 goals and 12.8 shots per match. Menlo has recorded 21 assists, 71 shots on goal and 82 corner kicks. The Oaks have scored 12 first-half goals and 11 in the second half.

Tim Schwarz leads Menlo with seven goals and four assists for 18 points, including two game-winning goals. He has taken a team-high 32 shots, with 19 on goal. Hugo Few follows with six goals and four assists for 16 points, while
Manuel Portillo has three goals and one assist for seven points. Schwarz and Few have combined for 13 of Menlo's 23 goals this season.
In goal, Vebjoern Madshus has appeared in eight matches, posting a 5-3 record with 23 saves, a 1.76 goals-against average, a .622 save percentage and two shutouts. Jaxon Tonley has appeared in four matches, recording 12 saves and a 1.75 goals-against average.

Menlo will host No. 1 nationally ranked Cal State LA on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 3 p.m. before welcoming Stan State on Saturday at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played at Wunderlich Field in Atherton.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MENLO
Saturday will mark the second all-time meeting between Stan State and Menlo and the first as CCAA opponents. The Warriors lead the series 1-0 after earning a 1-0 victory over the Oaks on Sept. 18, 2025, at Warrior Stadium in Turlock. Both programs were nationally ranked at the time of last year's meeting, with Stan State ranked No. 2 and Menlo No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Top 25.

In that contest, Duran scored the match's only goal in the 17th minute off assists from Samuel Villanueva and Yepez. Stan State and Menlo each finished with nine shots, but the Warriors held a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Stan State defense recorded two saves in the shutout before a crowd of 503 at Warrior Stadium.

Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the programs at Menlo's Wunderlich Field in Atherton.

CCAA SOCCER ON FLOCollege/BLUE CHIP BROADCASTING
Fans can watch Stan State men's soccer throughout the 2026 season on FloCollege as part of the CCAA's partnership with FloSports. Thursday's 4 p.m. home match against Cal Poly Pomona and Saturday's 3 p.m. road match at Menlo will both be streamed live on FloCollege.

Thursday's match against Cal Poly Pomona will also be available on Blue Chip Broadcasting, with Levi Flores providing the play-by-play from Warrior Stadium. Live statistics will be available for both matches.

UP NEXT
Following this week's matches against Cal Poly Pomona and Menlo, Stan State travels to Chico State on Thursday, Oct. 22, for a 7 p.m. CCAA matchup at University Soccer Stadium in Chico.

The Warriors return to Warrior Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, to host Cal Poly Humboldt at 7 p.m. for Senior Night. Stan State will recognize eight seniors — Christian Brenes, Federico Barbieri, George Riberal, Gerardo Flores, Emmanuel Duran, Sergio Garcia, Cameron Belandres, George Riberal and David Lozano — prior to its final regular-season home match.

Stan State concludes the regular season Thursday, Oct. 29, at Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m. at Ramirez Field in Fresno. All three matches will be streamed live on FloCollege, with Blue Chip Broadcasting also covering the home match against Cal Poly Humboldt.