SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The fifth-seeded Cal State San Marcos men's soccer team (7-7-5) will play its first-ever semifinal game of the CCAA Tournament by facing No. 4 and top-seeded Cal State LA (15-1-1) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at College Creek Field on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata.
 
LAST GAME

• CSUSM made its CCAA Tournament debut on Sunday at No. 11 and fourth-seeded Chico State.
• Chico scored the game's first goal in the 58th minute before CSUSM scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on a goal by Riley Patterson that was assisted by Ryan Meinardus and Curtis Collazos.
• Still tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the Cougars and Wildcats went to double overtime, but neither side was able to put the game away with a golden goal.
• The game was then decided by a penalty kick shootout – CSUSM's first in program history. After both sides made their first four attempts, Vincent Saldivar nailed the Cougars' fifth attempt before Chico's fifth attempt went high over the goal and sent CSUSM to the semifinals for the very first time.

ALL-CCAA HONOREES

• Curtis Collazos and Ryan Meinardus earned All-CCAA honors earlier on Wednesday.
• Collazos was named to the first team after being named as an honorable mention in 2022. He was the first All-CCAA first-team honoree in program history.
• Meinardus was named as an honorable mention.
• CSUSM now has 14 All-CCAA mods since joining the conference in 2015.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Jesus Mentado was named as the final CCAA Defensive Player of the Week of 2023 on Saturday.
• Mentado recorded a season-high seven saves in the Cougars' 1-1 draw at Cal State East Bay to wrap up the regular season and help clinch CSUSM's first-ever CCA Tournament berth.
• Mentado was the first Cougar to win the CCAA Defensive Player of the Week award and was just the program's fourth-ever player of the week.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM is just the second No. 5 seed since 2018 to advance to the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament. Chico State accomplished the feat last season.
• Ryan Meinardus' team-leading 16 points rank sixth in the CCAA while his four goals also rank sixth. His point total is currently the seventh best in a single season in program history and ranks first in the NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
• Curtis Collazos' 14 points for the season are tied for the eighth most in a single season at CSUSM and rank 10th in the league.
• Jesus Mentado ranks fifth in the CCAA with four shutouts this season while his 1.274 goals-against average also ranks fifth.
• Mentado's 158 career saves rank second in program history.
• Mentado's next game will tie Justin Tesar for the most goalkeeper games played in program history at 44.
• CSUSM continues to take the fourth-most shots per game in the CCAA at 12.42.
• The Cougars rank fifth in the conference in assists per game (1.21), goal differential (+3), points per game (3.95), shots on goal per game (5.32), total assists (23), total goals (26) and total points (75).

SEMIFINAL MATCHUP AGAINST CAL STATE LA

• CSUSM's semifinal opponent will be CCAA Regular-Season Champion Cal State LA.
• The Cougars and Golden Eagles previously met on Oct. 8 in San Marcos and saw LA escape with a 1-0 win.
• LA's victory over CSUSM was the second of a still active nine-game winning streak.
• The Golden Eagles concluded the regular season last Thursday with a 4-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills and had a bye for the first round of the CCAA Tournament.
• This is LA's 12 consecutive CCAA Tournament appearance.
• The Golden Eagles have won the CCAA Tournament Championship for the past two seasons and have six total championships to their name.
• LA has the nation's top save percentage at .904 thanks to keeper Julian Aadlandsvik, who also leads the nation with 12 shutouts.
• Allowing .471 goals per game, the Golden Eagles rank fifth nationally while their goal differential of 29 ranks ninth and second in the CCAA.
• LA has the second-best scoring offense in the conference at 2.18 goals per game.
• Bryan Ortega is the top point scorer on the Golden Eagles with 22 this season, ranking third in the CCAA. He ranks second for total goals (9) and 11th for total assists (4).
• LA is 8-1 in the all-time series against CSUSM.
• The Cougars' lone win in the series occurred in 2016 in San Marcos.
• Of the nine contests in the all-time series, seven have been decided by one goal.

POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME OPPONENTS

• Should CSUSM advance to Sunday's championship game, they would face the winner of No. 6 and second-seeded Cal Poly Pomona (12-1-4) and No. 21 and third-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay (12-3-4) on Sunday at noon.
• The Broncos and Otters will face each other on Friday at 11 a.m.
• The Cougars fell 2-0 at Cal Poly Pomona on Oct. 29 and lost 4-0 at Cal State Monterey Bay on Oct. 12.
• This is CPP's first visit to the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament since 2021 and is CSUMB's first since 2007.
• The Broncos ended the regular season on a five game-winning streak that included a 3-1 win against the Otters on Oct. 22.
• While CPP secured a spot in the semifinals with a first-round bye, CSUMB had to earn it with a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino this past Sunday.
• The Cougars are 5-3-1 in the all-time series against the Otters and are 1-6-4 against the Broncos.
• CPP has the seventh-best goal differential in the nation at 31, leading the CCAA.
• The Broncos' scoring offense of 2.59 goals per game ranks first in the conference while its goals-against average of .765 ranks third.
• Paul Roger Henschke leads CPP with 26 points, nine goals and eight assists.
• The Otters' goal differential of 25 ranks third in the CCAA and 13th nationally.
• CSUMB's 2.16 goals per game rank third in the conference while its goals-against average of .842 ranks fourth.
• Janos Kommerling leads the Otters with six goals and 17 points while his five assists are tied for the team lead with Miguel Guerrero.

THE 2023 COUGARS

• CSUSM's 2023 roster consists of 29 student-athletes with 20 returners and nine newcomers.
• Stefano Brunetto returns as CSUSM's points leader in 2022 as he tallied eight with two goals and four assists.
• The Cougars were picked to finish eighth in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Curtis Collazos, Oliver Reader and Derek Westwood were each named All-CCAA honorable mentions for their play during the 2022 season.

THE PULVERS FILE

• This season marks the 18th season for head coach Ron Pulvers at CSUSM.
• Pulvers has a 134-121-34 (.522) record as CSUSM's head men's coach.
• In 26 seasons as a collegiate head men's soccer coach, Pulvers holds a 260-192-48 (.568) career record.
• He was 84-42-24 (.640) while in charge of the CSUSM women's program.
• From 2006-13, Pulvers led both the CSUSM men's and women's soccer teams.