SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The second-seeded Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team (9-2-6) will play its CCAA Tournament semifinal game against third-seeded Cal State LA (9-1-8) on Friday at 4 p.m. at Cardinale Stadium on the campus of Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM concluded regular-season action at Cal State East Bay last Thursday and took a 2-2 draw.
• Finishing with 23 points, the Cougars came up two points shy of sharing the CCAA Regular-Season Championship with Cal Poly Pomona and earning the top seed in the CCAA Tournament.
• The tie at East Bay improved CSUSM's unbeaten streak to 12 games – its second-longest mark in program history.

CCAA PLAYER & DEFENDER OF THE YEAR

• Sophomore defender Natalie Paulson was voted as the CCAA's Player and Defender of the Year on Tuesday.
• She concluded the regular season with a team-high six goals while ranking second on the team in points with 12.
• Her goal total is currently tied for the eighth most in a single season at CSUSM and is the most by a Cougar in the NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
• Three of her six goals were game-winning goals, tying for the fourth most in a single season at CSUSM.
• Paulson is the first CSUSM women's soccer student-athlete to earn an individual CCAA award of any type.

ALL-CCAA HONOREES

• CSUSM earned a program-record seven All-CCAA recipients.
• Earning first-team honors were Natalie Paulson and Hannah Ramos while Nani Kia'aina was named to the second team.
• Allison Marcure, Claire Hernandez, Natalia Huntington and Danielle Paulson were named honorable mentions.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• Another win or draw would tie CSUSM's unbeaten streak record of 13 games dating back to the NAIA era (Sept. 20 - Nov. 22, 2014).
• CSUSM has the 15th-best shutout percentage in the nation and leads the CCAA at .647.
• The Cougars' 6.24 corner kicks per game rank 27th nationally and lead the conference.
• CSUSM leads the CCAA in assists per game at 1.59.
• The Cougars have the top scoring offense in the conference at 1.76 goals per game while their .588 goals allowed per game are the second fewest.
• CSUSM averages a league-best 5.12 points per game.
• The Cougars have scored the most goals (30) and points (87) in the CCAA this season while ranking second in assists (27).
• CSUSM is putting up the second-most shots per game in the conference at 13.29 while its 5.88 shots on goal per game rank third.
• Allison Marcure's nine shutouts for the year rank third in the conference while her .603 goals-against average ranks second.
• Nani Kia'aina's six assists and 0.38 assists per game rank second in the CCAA.
• The Cougars are unbeaten away from home this season at 3-0-3.

CCAA SEMIFINALS

• This will be CSUSM's second CCAA Tournament semifinal appearance after last going up against UC San Diego in 2017.
• The Cougars and Golden Eagles last faced each other on Oct. 8 in San Marcos and recorded their second consecutive scoreless draw.
• CSUSM is 3-4-2 in the all-time series against LA since the first meeting in 2007. Only one game has been decided by more than one goal.
• LA earned its way to the semifinals with a 1-0 win against Chico State in tournament's first round this past Sunday.
• The Golden Eagles are on a 15-game unbeaten streak and have won their past three contests.
• LA's lone loss this season was a 1-0 defeat at Western Washington in the team's third game of the season on Sept. 9.
• The Golden Eagles were receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll and came in at No. 3 in the NCAA West Region rankings.
• LA won the CCAA Tournament Championship last season as it defeated Sonoma State.
• This is the Golden Eagles' 10th consecutive CCAA Tournament appearance since 2013.
• LA's .877 team save percentage ranks seventh nationally while keeper Taesja Paopao's .887 save percentage ranks sixth in Division II. Her goals-against average of .393 ranks 10th nationally.
• Lilliana Gonzalez is LA's top point scorer with 10 as she's also tied for the team lead in goals with four.
• LA's .444 goals-against average ranks 13th nationally and leads the CCAA while its scoring offense of 1.17 goals per game rank eighth in the league.

POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP

• Should the Cougars advance to Sunday's championship game, they would face the winner of top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona (10-4-3) and fifth-seeded Cal Poly Humboldt (13-4-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
• The Broncos and Lumberjacks will face each other on Friday at 7 p.m.
• The Cougars had a pair of 1-0 wins over the Broncos and Lumberjacks during the regular season.
• This is Pomona's first semifinals appearance since 2019 and is Humboldt's first since 2006.
• The Broncos claimed this season CCAA Regular-Season Championship last Thursday with a 1-0 win at Cal State San Bernardino after falling 1-0 to CSUSM the game before.
• The Lumberjacks earned their way to the semifinals with a 2-1 win at fourth-seeded Stanislaus State this past Sunday after finishing their final five games of the regular season at 2-3.
• The Broncos' .765 goals-against average ranks fourth in the CCAA while its scoring offense of 1.35 goals per game ranks fifth.
• Jaclyn Cuevas is the Broncos' top offensive play with a team-leading 18 points and eight goals.
• The Lumberjacks' .676 goals-against average ranks third in the CCAA while their scoring offense of 1.47 goals per game ranks third.
• Emilia Long leads Humboldt in points (22), goals (8) and assists (6).

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 ninth year in charge of the women's program and 17th overall at CSUSM.
• 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 62-51-41 (.536) for his career with the Cougars.