SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Fresh off earning its first CCAA Tournament Championship, the fifth-seeded Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team (11-2-6) will face fourth-seeded Concordia University Irvine (12-2-2) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at noon in San Diego at PLNU Soccer Field.
 
Top-seeded Point Loma (12-3-1) was picked to serve as one of the NCAA West Regional hosts and received a bye to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of Thursday's game between the Cougars and No. 24 Golden Eagles will face the No. 13 Sea Lions on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM earned a bye to the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
• The Cougars earned their first trip to the tournament's championship game with a 1-0 victory over third-seeded Cal State LA in Friday's semifinal with a goal by Natalia Huntington in the 46th minute.
• CSUSM then faced top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona in Sunday's championship game and came out on top with a 1-0 victory after an 18th-minute goal by Nani Kia'aina.
• Kia'aina was named to the CCAA All-Tournament Team and was selected as the tournament's Offensive Most Valuable Player.
• Natalie Paulson was also named to the CCAA All-Tournament Team and was selected as the tournament's Defensive Most Valuable Player.
• Claire Hernandez, Natalia Huntington and Allison Marcure also earned a spot on the CCAA All-Tournament Team.

 
COUGAR FACTS

• This is CSUSM's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Cougars enter the tournament on a program-record 14-game unbeaten streak dating back to Sept. 23.
• Natalie Paulson was named the CCAA Player and Defender of the Year last week while earning All-CCAA first-team honors.
• Teammate Hannah Ramos joined Paulson on the first team while Nani Kia'aina was named to the second team.
• Claire Hernandez, Natalia Huntington, Allison Marcure and Danielle Paulson were named All-CCAA honorable mentions.
• Altogether, CSUSM had a program record of seven earn All-CCAA honors.
• After this past weekend, the Cougars have tallied 13 shutouts this season and have the seventh-best shutout percentage in Division II at .684.
• CSUSM's .526 goals-against average ranks 21st in the nation.
• The Cougars lead the CCAA in assists per game (1.53), corner kicks per game (5.95), points per game (4.89), scoring offense (1.68), total assists (29), total goals (32) and total points (93).
• Marcure's 11 shutouts in goal this season rank fifth nationally and are tied for the second most in a season in program history.
• Marcure also has the 21st-best goals-against average in Division II at .538.
• This is the Cougars' first 11-win season since also tallying 11 in 2014. This is also CSUSM's most wins since beginning Division II play (2015-present).
• CSUSM's last seven games have been decided by one goal or less.
• The Cougars are 2-0 in neutral site games this season and are 3-0-3 in away games.

FIRST ROUND GAME AGAINST CUI

• The Golden Eagles finished the regular season ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 Poll and will be the Cougars' first ranked opponent since facing off against then-No. 22 Point Loma on Aug. 27, 2022.
• CUI finished second in the PacWest standings at 7-1-2 in conference action.
• This will be the first time CSUSM and CUI have faced each other since 2017, and it will be the first time both teams have faced each other at a neutral site.
• The Golden Eagles own the all-time series lead at 5-2-4.
• The Cougars won the previous meeting in San Marcos, 2-0.
• Due to the PacWest not having a conference tournament, CUI concluded its regular season this past Saturday with a 2-1 win at Westmont.
• CUI's lone two losses this season came in the season opener on Aug. 31 against then-No. 24 Cal State LA (1-0) and on Nov. 2 at Chaminade (2-1).
• The Golden Eagles rank 13th nationally in save percentage at .860.
• CUI's goal-against average of .500 ranks 17th in Division II while its scoring offense of 2.00 goals per game ranks 45th.
• The Golden Eagles are putting 8.88 shots on goal per game, ranking 18th nationally.
• CUI leads the PacWest in shots per game at 15.62 and shutout percentage (.562).
• Riley Walkington is CUI's points leader at 14. She's tied for the team lead in goals (5) and leads the team in assists (4). Her shot accuracy ranks fifth nationally at .688.
• Golden Eagle keeper Riley Urquiza has the 24th-best goals-against in the nation at .544 while sporting the 26th-best save percentage at .846.
• CUI made it to the third round of last year's NCAA Tournament, falling 1-0 to eventual National Champion Western Washington.
• This will be the Golden Eagles' second NCAA Tournament appearance.

POTENTIAL SECOND-ROUND GAME AGAINST POINT LOMA

• The Sea Lions were selected as the top seed in the NCAA West Regional after concluding the season with an overall record of 12-3-1 and winning the PacWest Regular-Season Championship with an 8-2-0 record.
• PLNU finished the season ranked No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 Poll.
• CSUSM and PLNU met earlier this season on Sept. 9 in San Marcos as the Cougars suffered their first of two losses this season by a score of 2-0.
• The Cougars are 1-10-4 in the all-time series against the Sea Lions with their lone win occurring in 2014 in San Marcos.
• Seven of the last eight games between CSUSM and PLNU have been decided by a goal or less.
• The Sea Lions have the 17th-best scoring offense in the nation at 2.62 goals per game while their .688 goals-against average ranks 31st.
• Putting up 7.00 points per game, PLNU ranks 17th in Division II.
• The Sea Lions lead the PacWest in assists per game (1.75) and corner kicks per game (6.12).
• Nikki Ross is PLNU's offensive leader with 15 points and seven goals while tallying one assist.
• In goal, Julia Pinnell has the 23rd-best goals-against average in the nation and leads the PacWest at .543 while her .814 save percentage ranks second in the conference.
• The Sea Lions will be making their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh overall.
• PLNU fell in the second round of last year's tournament to eventual National Champion Western Washington (1-0).

THIS YEAR'S COUGARS

• CSUSM's 2023 roster consists of 31 student-athletes with 17 returners and 14 newcomers.
• The Cougars' return top scorers Claire Hernandez, Diana Mendoza and Jenna Frankina as each posted two goals in 2022.
• Hernandez earned All-CCAA second-team honors last season while Jenna Frankina, Natalia Huntington and Allison Marcure were honorable mentions.
• Because of last season's second-team honor, Hernandez was listed on the CCAA's 2023 Preseason Watchlist.
• Returning in goal for her redshirt junior season is Allison Marcure, who posted 51 saves and nine shutouts while playing all 1,620 minutes last season.
• CSUSM tied for sixth with Cal Poly Humboldt in the 2023 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE RENNEISEN FILE

• Head coach Bobby Renneisen enters his 10th year in charge of the women's program and 18th overall at CSUSM.
• Renneisen's 2023 team made its third CCAA Tournament appearance and won its first tournament championship.
• 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 64-51-41 (.542) for his career with the Cougars.