Chico State women’s soccer is hoping their second place finish in the regular season is sufficient enough to advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament after an early exit in the conference tournament.
Sonoma State’s three penalty kicks bettered Chico to advance to the next round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on Friday.
The Wildcats invaded La Jolla, optimistic to finish as finalists of the CCAA. They trailed UC San Diego by only one point for the regular season lead of the conference, a team they just beat on Saturday. Sonoma ranked right behind the Wildcats in third.
Chico State forward Erin Woods was hoping to end her college career with a CCAA title.
“We were prepared to have a fight, but the intensity was high because of the tournament, more so than the rivalry,” Woods said. “We really wanted to stay in the tournament.”
Chico made the most of a takeaway at midfield in the 42nd minute. The Wildcats executed a series of passes down the left sideline toward midfielder Juliana Los. Los sent a pass to Lauren Madero who blasted a header from the far post for her first goal since last season.
Senior goalkeeper Brenna Meier had to come up with six saves for the Wildcats, after 14 Sonoma shot attempts.
The back line has been solid this entire year, and today was no different according to Chico State senior Jamie Ikeda. From her defensive position Ikeda noticed a teammate playing extremely well.
“Maddie Joseph has stepped up big time for the back line these past couple games and has taken her new role head on with no fear,” Ikeda said.
Sonoma State’s Bella Amyx evened the score in the 70th minute with a goal to the left post off her right foot.
The three periods of overtime featured gritty action with opportunities from both squads to score. The game was forced into penalty kicks. Nadia Martinez was the only Wildcat to put one through after four attempts. Sonoma went through the penalty kicks, converting three to move onto the CCAA championship.
“We need to focus on us and continue to keep the energy and just go from there,” Woods said.
Although the match was decided in penalty kicks, it only goes down as a draw for Chico. The Wildcats will now wait to see if they will be selected to participate in the NCAA tournament while being ranked 24th in the country.
Wesley Harris can be reached at [email protected] or @flacko_flame on twitter.
