SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team (5-3-3. 2-2-0 CCAA) will conclude its three-game homestand against Cal State Monterey Bay (4-1-5, 1-0-3 CCAA) on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. before beginning a three-game road trip at San Francisco State (3-8-0, 0-4-0 CCAA) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• In its CCAA home opener, CSUSM came away with a 2-1 win over Cal State San Bernardino with goals by Nani Kia'aina and Natalie Paulson.
• The Cougars then fell to No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday after the Broncos posted two second-half goals.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• After two weeks of CCAA play, CSUSM finds itself in a four-way tie for fifth in the conference standings with six points.
• At 183 career saves, keeper Allison Marcure is four away from Kaycee Guinion's program record of 187.
• With her goal on Friday, Natalie Paulson entered CSUSM's top 10 for career goals with nine while tying for the fifth-most game-winning goals at five.
• CSUSM leads in the CCAA and ranks 24th for corner kicks per game at 6.36.
• With a shot accuracy of .534, the Cougars rank second in the conference.
• Accumulating 3.73 points per game, CSUSM ranks third in the league.
• The Cougars rank fourth in the CCAA in both scoring offense (1.36) and goals-against average (1.00).

 
HOMESTAND FINALE AGAINST THE OTTERS

• Monterey Bay comes into Thursday's meeting with six points in the CCAA standings, tying for fifth.
• The Otters have yet to lose a conference game, scoring a win this past weekend against Stanislaus State and draws versus Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona and Chico State.
• CSUMB's lone loss this season came in its season opener against Central Washington, losing 1-0.
• Monterey Bay has the top goals-against average in the CCAA at .444 and ranks 14th nationally. It also has the conference's top shutout percentage at .667.
• On the flip side, the Otters' are scoring just .89 goals per game, ranking 10th in the league.
• Tiger Rendon leads the Otters with five points from two goals and an assist while Jaedyn Sanders has four points with two goals.
• Nylah Mirshafiei has the second-best goals-against average (.667) and save percentage (.842) in the CCAA.
• CSUSM is 6-1-1 in the all-time series against CSUMB and is 3-0-0 when facing the Otters at home.
• The Cougars have won the past three meetings against the Otters with the lone loss in the series occurring in 2019 in Seaside.

  
A NEW ROAD TRIP BEGINS

• CSUSM will start a three-game road trip at San Francisco State on Sunday.
• The Gators are last in the CCAA standings with losses in all four of its conference games to this point.
• This past weekend, SF State fell 2-1 to Chico State before a 3-0 loss to Stanislaus State.
• Before facing CSUSM, the Gators will head to the other side of the bay to face Cal State East Bay on Thursday night.
• SF State ranks last in the CCAA in assists per game (0.18), goals-against average (1.636), points per game (1.27), scoring offense (0.55), shots per game (6.45) and shots on goal per game (3.09).
• Keeper Cameryn Nunn ranks fourth in the CCAA for saves per game at 3.70.
• Emily Gehrlein-Allen leads the Gators with two goals this season, both game-winners.
• CSUSM is 4-3-3 in the all-time series against SF State and has wins in three of the last four meetings.
• Despite the success, the Cougars have just one win when playing in San Francisco, coming in the inaugural meeting in 2008.

2024 OUTLOOK

• After a historic 2023 season, CSUSM was just barely picked to finish second in 2024 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll, finishing one point behind Cal Poly Pomona.
• The Cougars' roster of 32 includes 22 returners and 10 newcomers who are all freshmen.
• Returners Natalia Huntington, Nani Kia'aina, Allison Marcure and Natalie Paulson were named to the 2024 CCAA Women's Soccer Watchlist after earning first or second-team All-CCAA honors in 2023 or were voted to the CCAA All-Tournament Team.
• Natalie Paulson was the 2023 CCAA Player and Defender of the Year and went on to earn All-America first-team and All-Region honors.
• Of CSUSM's 32 goals scored in 2023, 28 of them were scored by 2024 returners.

THE RENNEISEN FILE

• Head coach Bobby Renneisen enters his 11th year in charge of the women's program and 19th overall at CSUSM.
• Renneisen coached the Cougars to their first CCAA Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 with an 11-3-6 (6-0-5 CCAA) record while finishing second in the CCAA standings.
• Renneisen and his assistant coaches were named the 2023 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II West Region Staff of the Year.
• Renneisen's 2018 team made its second consecutive CCAA Tournament appearance while also handing No. 1 UC San Diego its lone regular-season loss.
• Between 2006-13, Renneisen was an assistant/associate head coach for both the men's and women's soccer teams.
• As the women's head coach, Renneisen is 69-55-44 (.542) for his career with the Cougars.