TURLOCK, Calif.--- Seventh-seeded Stan State opens play in the 2026 CCAA Women's Soccer Championships presented by FloCollege this Sunday, Nov. 1, when the Warriors travel to Los Angeles to face second-seeded Cal State LA at noon. Stan State (8-5-4) enters the first-round matchup riding a four-match unbeaten streak (2-0-2) after closing the regular season with a 4-1 victory at Fresno Pacific. The Warriors, who finished 7-4-2 in conference play with 23 points, are making their seventh straight CCAA Tournament appearance. Cal State LA (11-2-5), which was receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings, finished 8-2-3 in conference play with 27 points. Sunday's winner advances to the semifinals Thursday, Nov. 5, at Kellogg Stadium in Pomona.

James Guides Warriors to CCAA Tournament
First-year head coach Adam James has guided Stan State to an 8-5-4 overall record and a 7-4-2 mark in CCAA play, leading the Warriors to their seventh straight conference tournament appearance. Stan State enters Sunday's first-round match riding a four-match unbeaten streak (2-0-2), including a 4-1 victory at Fresno Pacific in the regular-season finale. James came to Stan State after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Azusa Pacific, where he helped the Cougars make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and capture the 2025 PacWest Championship. His coaching background also includes stops at Cal State San Marcos and San Diego State.

Regular-Season Finale Recap
Stan State secured its seventh straight CCAA Tournament berth with a 4-1 victory at Fresno Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 29, at Ramirez Field in Fresno. After falling behind 1-0 in the 21st minute, Aliah Avila tied the match with her fifth goal of the season in the 37th minute. The Warriors took control in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals. Hibah Elbeshity scored the game-winner in the 55th minute off an assist from Mandy Thao before Olivia Maragos extended the lead to 3-1 in the 59th minute off an assist from Kayla Perez. Amanda Do added her first goal of the season in the 87th minute off an assist from Maragos. Stan State outshot the Sunbirds 20-5, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal, while holding a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Zara Mujica recorded two saves as the Warriors finished the regular season 8-5-4 overall and 7-4-2 in the CCAA with 23 points, earning the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.

Warriors in Review
Stan State enters the CCAA Tournament 8-5-4 overall after finishing 7-4-2 in conference play and earning the No. 7 seed. The Warriors are unbeaten in their last four matches (2-0-2), including a 4-1 victory at Fresno Pacific in Thursday's regular-season finale. Through 17 matches, Stan State has outscored its opponents 24-15 while recording seven shutouts. The Warriors average 1.41 goals per match and have registered 20 assists on their 24 goals. Olivia Maragos leads Stan State with seven goals, five assists and 19 points, followed by Aliah Avila with five goals, three assists and 13 points. Karissa Franco has two goals and two assists for six points, while Hibah Elbeshity has two goals and one assist for five points. Mandy Thao is tied with Maragos for the team lead with five assists. Defensively, Zara Mujica has recorded 71 saves, an .826 save percentage and a 0.91 goals-against average in 1,485 minutes. She has been credited with six individual shutouts and has contributed to another shared shutout this season.

Warriors in the Record Book
Aliah Avila and Zara Mujica continue to move up Stan State's career record lists heading into Sunday's CCAA Tournament first-round match at Cal State LA. Avila ranks fourth in program history with 22 career goals, fifth with 20 assists and fifth with 65 points. She is six goals behind Marti Teunissen (2003-06) and Kirsten Coleman (2013-16), who are tied for third with 28. Avila is also one assist behind Emily Reiles (2010-13), who ranks fourth with 21, and one point behind Coleman, who ranks fourth with 66. Avila ranks second in career game-winning goals with 13, trailing only Karenee Demerey's 29.

Mujica ranks sixth in program history with 139 career saves and is sixth with 12.5 career shutouts. She is 34 saves behind Chelsea Lewandowski, who ranks fifth with 173. Mujica also ranks among the program's single-season leaders with 7.5 shutouts in 2026, trailing the eight recorded by Millie Brown and Breanna Vaughan, who are tied for fifth on the single-season list.

Among the CCAA Leaders
Stan State ranks third in the CCAA in shots on goal per match (6.35) and saves per match (4.29), fifth in goals per match (1.41) and sixth in points per match (4.00) and assists per match (1.18) through 17 matches. The Warriors have recorded 108 shots on goal among their 209 total shots, averaging 12.29 shots per match. Stan State has recorded 68 points on 24 goals and 20 assists, including eight game-winning goals and nine first goals of a match. Defensively, the Warriors have recorded 73 saves, an .828 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Individually, Aliah Avila leads the CCAA in shots on goal per match (1.82) and ranks fourth in shots per match (2.88). She also ranks sixth in goals per match (0.29), ninth in points per match (0.76) and 10th in game-winning goals per match (0.12). Olivia Maragos ranks third in points per match (1.19), fourth in goals per match (0.44) and assists per match (0.31), seventh in shots on goal per match (1.31) and eighth in game-winning goals per match (0.13). Mandy
Thao ranks third in the conference in assists per match (0.29).

In goal, Zara Mujica ranks second in the CCAA in saves per match (4.18), seventh in save percentage (.826), eighth in shutouts per match (0.35) and ninth in goals-against average (0.91). She has recorded 71 saves and six individual shutouts in 1,485 minutes.

NCAA Power Index Rankings
Stan State is ranked 14th in the NCAA Division II West Region in the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings through Oct. 28, with an NPI rating of 52.596. Western Washington leads the region at No. 30 nationally, followed by Cal Poly Pomona (36), Cal State LA (39), Point Loma (42), Concordia Irvine (43), Simon Fraser (46), UC Merced (51), Hawai'i Hilo (52), Cal State San Marcos (62) and Cal State San Bernardino (76). The West Region consists of teams from the CCAA, PacWest and GNAC. Seven teams will qualify for the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship from the West Region, including three automatic qualifiers and four at-large selections. The next weekly NPI rankings will be released Monday, Nov. 2, with daily updates continuing through the postseason selection process. The CCAA Tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship, with selections announced Monday, Nov. 9.

CCAA Tournament History
Stan State is making its seventh straight CCAA Tournament appearance and 13th overall in 2026. The Warriors have captured three CCAA Tournament championships (2011, 2013 and 2022) and enter this year's tournament with an 8-8 all-time record in conference postseason play. Stan State has advanced to the semifinals in each of the last two seasons, defeating Cal State East Bay 2-1 in the 2025 first round before falling 2-1 in double overtime to Chico State. In 2024, the Warriors defeated Cal Poly Humboldt 2-0 in the first round before falling to No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona in the semifinals.

Sunday's matchup marks the fourth CCAA Tournament meeting between Stan State and Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles won the most recent postseason meeting 1-0 in the 2022 semifinals and also defeated the Warriors 2-1 in double overtime in 2010. Stan State defeated Cal State LA 3-2 in overtime in the 2013 CCAA semifinals. Aliah Avila has earned CCAA All-Tournament Team honors in each of the last two seasons (2024 and 2025).
Stan State has also made four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2011, 2013, 2014 and 2019), highlighted by the program's 2014 West Region championship.

CCAA Tournament Field
No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona captured the CCAA regular-season championship with 28 points (8-1-4) and earned the top seed and first-round bye. Cal State LA and Cal State San Bernardino finished tied for second with 27 points (8-2-3), with Cal State LA earning the No. 2 seed and Cal State San Bernardino the No. 3 seed. UC Merced earned the No. 4 seed with 25 points (7-2-4), followed by No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay (6-2-5), No. 6 Cal State San Marcos (7-4-2) and No. 7 Stan State (7-4-2), each with 23 points.

CCAA Tournament Schedule
The 2026 CCAA Women's Soccer Championships presented by FloCollege begin Sunday, Nov. 1, with three quarterfinal matches at campus sites. Fifth-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay visits fourth-seeded UC Merced at noon, sixth-seeded Cal State San Marcos travels to third-seeded Cal State San Bernardino at 10 a.m., and seventh-seeded Stan State faces second-seeded Cal State LA at noon in Los Angeles. Top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona receives a first-round bye.

The semifinals will take place Thursday, Nov. 5, at Kellogg Stadium in Pomona. Cal Poly Pomona will face the winner of Cal State Monterey Bay and UC Merced at 4 p.m., followed by the winners of Cal State San Bernardino/Cal State San Marcos and Cal State LA/Stan State at 7 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m. at Kellogg Stadium. The CCAA Tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship.
 

Scouting Cal State LA
Second-seeded Cal State LA enters Sunday's CCAA Tournament first-round match 11-2-5 overall after finishing 8-2-3 in conference play with 27 points. The Golden Eagles, who were receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches national rankings, are unbeaten in their last 11 matches (8-0-3) since falling 2-1 to Stan State on Sept. 25. Cal State LA closed the regular season with a scoreless draw at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday after defeating Fresno Pacific 6-0 on Oct. 25 and Cal State San Bernardino 1-0 on Oct. 23. The Golden Eagles are 5-2-2 at home this season and have outscored their opponents 30-9 while recording 11 shutouts. They average 1.67 goals per match while allowing just 0.50 goals per contest.

Briana Chagolla leads Cal State LA with eight goals, three assists and 19 points, followed by Celine Gehrig with four goals, three assists and 11 points. Analise Quintero has added four goals and one assist for nine points, including a team-leading three game-winning goals. Bailey Martinez, Itzel Carbajal and Luna Chavez have each contributed seven points. In goal, Kendyl Sumlin has recorded 47 saves, an .839 save percentage, a 0.51 goals-against average and nine individual shutouts in 18 matches. Cal State LA has held opponents to 6.8 shots per match while averaging 12.7 shots and 8.4 corner kicks per contest.

Last Meeting with Cal State LA
Stan State defeated then-No. 14 Cal State LA 2-1 on Sept. 25 at University Stadium in Los Angeles, scoring twice in the second half before holding off a late Golden Eagle rally. After a scoreless first half, Olivia Maragos gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute off an assist from Mandy Thao. Aliah Avila added what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 69th minute, her 13th career game-winner, before Celine Gehrig scored for Cal State LA in the 84th minute. The Golden Eagles held a 14-6 advantage in shots, including a 7-2 edge in shots on goal, and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. Zara Mujica recorded six saves as Stan State earned its second consecutive victory over Cal State LA.

Series History vs. Cal State LA
Stan State leads the all-time series against Cal State LA 16-14-5, including a 7-6-4 record in Los Angeles. The Warriors have won the last two meetings, defeating the Golden Eagles 2-1 on Sept. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles and 1-0 on Oct. 5, 2025, at Warrior Stadium. Stan State is 3-6-1 in the last 10 meetings between the programs. Sunday's match will be the fourth meeting between the teams in the CCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles won the previous postseason meeting 1-0 in the 2022 CCAA semifinals in Rohnert Park, while Stan State defeated Cal State LA 3-2 in overtime in the 2013 CCAA semifinals in Turlock. Cal State LA also defeated the Warriors 2-1 in double overtime in the 2010 CCAA Tournament in Los Angeles.

Up Next
The winner of Sunday's first-round match between Stan State and Cal State LA advances to the semifinals Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at Kellogg Stadium in Pomona against the winner of the Cal State San Bernardino-Cal State San Marcos quarterfinal. The CCAA championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m., also at Kellogg Stadium. The CCAA Tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship. NCAA Championship selections will be announced Monday, Nov. 9.