Chico State’s Women’s Soccer walked away desiring more this past weekend with a win and a draw against their opponents Cal State East Bay and Stanislaus State. 

The Wildcats ended the weekend with two shutouts in a row and are currently ranked third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association rankings. This advances them forward with an overall record of (6-2-4) and (3-1-2) in conference play. 

“One game at a time. That’s part of our team culture. We want to win a banner and we want to take the CCAA title,” sophomore forward Piper Matson said. “How we do that is by focusing one game at a time.” 

The Wildcats competed against Cal State Eastbay on Oct. 6 at University Stadium and were accompanied by the roar of cheers from the crowd. 

Going into the game, the team was coming off a loss to Cal State L.A. and needed a win to get back on track.

Things started off well for Chico when the Wildcats got a corner kick in the 11th minute. 

Senior forward Mackenzie Gill shot the ball into the right side of the penalty box which allowed sophomore midfielder Madison Noll to come crashing down and fire a shot into the upper right side of the goal box, putting the Wildcats up 1-0. 

Noll credits her first collegiate goal to both intuition and preparation. 

“We practice set pieces almost every week, so I was definitely prepared. But at that moment it is a lot of instinct,” Noll said. 

The only Wildcats to play all 90 minutes of the game were sophomore goalkeeper Emma Hofmann and the starting Wildcat defensive lineup. The starting lineup was led by sophomores Taylor Russell, Emilia Kling and Klayre Barres, as well as junior Nicole Fairbanks. 

All five players have started in all 12 games this season for Chico State. 

“Our trust for each other, our communication and just putting it all out there for your team is what we really work on,” Barres said. “We really pride ourselves on a good strong defense because that’s what’s ultimately going to win us the conference.”

The second score came in the 57th minute when Barres went to the sideline for a throw-in, which she threw to sophomore forward Summer Baron. 

Baron, who had just checked into the game seconds prior, immediately passed the ball to senior forward Susanna Garcia. 

Garcia then blew past one defender and had another applying pressure on her right side before she took a shot. The ball flew past East Bay’s goalkeeper Jordan Smith and hit the back of the net for the Wildcat’s second goal of the day. 

Throughout the matchup, Chico’s defense battled against the Pioneers and prevented them from making any plays on the offensive end. 

Although the Pioneers shot a total of six times, none were on goal and Hofmann consequently ended the match with zero saves. 

This is attributable to the defensive hustle and urgency that the Wildcats provided all night.

With another win in their bag, Chico State played against Stanislaus State in Turlock on Oct. 9, where they walked away with a tie. 

Though both teams had opportunities to score, neither of them were able to capitalize on the opportunities that they had.

The Wildcats will continue their journey on the road, this time in Southern California against Cal State San Marcos and Cal State San Bernardino. 

Their first game takes place on Oct. 14 at 12:30 p.m. against San Marcos and the second game, which is against San Bernardino is scheduled for Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m. 

“Being on our home field under the lights is perfect conditions but no doubt when we travel, we’re going to keep bringing it,” Barres said. “Our Wildcat family follows us there too.” 

Raymundo Sayago can be reached on Twitter @rsayagoaguilar or [email protected].