SAN MARCOS – A year after winning their first CCAA Tournament, the Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team was narrowly picked to finish second in the CCAA Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday.
The Cougars received 133 points and three first-place votes and finished just behind first-place Cal Poly Pomona's 134 points and six first-place votes. With 124 points and two first-place votes, Cal State LA was picked to finish third.
Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State finished fourth and fifth in the poll with 95 and 94 points, respectively. Stanislaus State took sixth with 90 points and one first-place vote. Round out the 12-team field was Cal State San Bernardino (66), Sonoma State (52), Cal State Monterey Bay (49), San Francisco State (45), Cal State East Bay (33) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (21).
CSUSM was in the hunt for the 2023 regular-season title until the final weekend of the season. It finished second to claim the No. 2 seed in the CCAA Tournament before making a run to the program's first CCAA Tournament Championship.
CCAA Player of the Year Natalie Paulson returns for her junior season. She was an anchor for the Cougars on the backline along with goalkeeper Allison Marcure. The pair helped CSUSM rank 14th in NCAA Division II in goals against average (.544) and eighth in shutout percentage (.650). They'll return along with fellow All-CCAA honorees Nani Kia'aina, Natalia Huntington and Danielle Paulson.
CSUSM will open its 2024 season by visiting the 2023 NCAA Division II National Champion Point Loma Sea Lions on Sept. 5 at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
- F
- 5' 4"
- Sophomore
- GK
- 5' 9"
- Redshirt Junior
- D
- 6' 1"
- Sophomore
- D
- 6' 1"
- Sophomore
- M
- 5' 2"
- Sophomore
Players Mentioned
- 5' 4"
- Sophomore
- F
- 5' 9"
- Redshirt Junior
- GK
- 6' 1"
- Sophomore
- D
- 6' 1"
- Sophomore
- D
- 5' 2"
- Sophomore
- M
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