The Warriors finally got back to their scoring ways and snapped a four-match winless streak as Cal State Stanislaus picked up the much-needed win over Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-0, on a breezy Sunday at Warrior Stadium.
Jade Poon and Kirsten Coleman ended the Warriors' scoreless streak with two first half goals to propel Stanislaus as they improved to 12-4-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Cal State Stanislaus, however, didn't get much help from around the conference in the standings as the Warriors remain one point out of the top six after Sunday's play. UC San Diego defeated Humboldt State, 1-0, in Arcata to stay a point ahead of the Warriors for sixth place. Cal Poly Pomona was also victorious at Sonoma State to stay five points ahead of the Warriors.
The Warriors will need more help from the other teams, as well as win on Thursday over Cal State East Bay, to qualify for the CCAA Championships tournament. The top six teams in the standings earn berths for the postseason event, starting with first round campus site matches on Sunday.
With a Stanislaus win, the Warriors would need a tie or loss by Sonoma State at San Francisco State, or a UC San Diego loss to qualify for the tournament. The Warriors would also get in with a tie and a UC San Diego loss versus Cal State Dominguez Hills.
"It's great to get back on the winning track. Seeing the ball go in the back of the net was really well deserved for the team," CSUS head coach Gabriel Bolton said. "They have worked really hard. It was important to get that monkey off our back."
Taking care of their own business on Sunday, the Warriors scored twice early in the first half to take control of the match. Poon scored for the first time in six games in the 16th minute after a nice touch from Tina Benson and a pass from Lauren Thornton to allow Poon a one-v-one chance. Poon deposited the ball past Jennifer Ackelry for her 12th goal of the year. That goal turned out to be Poon's first since she scored twice in the 4-3 double OT win over Sonoma State on Oct. 5.
"Jade had to battle through a defender to create that opportunity. Not only did she show great toughness but took the chance well," said Bolton.
The Warriors needed just two-and-a-half minutes to score again. This time Katelyn Nebesnick and Maryssa McDuffyset-up a breakaway for Coleman to found the back of the net for her eighth of the season.
"The team did a great job creating the opportunity and Katelyn slipped a perfect pass to Kirsten who finished it with class," added Bolton.
Stanislaus controlled the rest of the match, ending up with a 20-7 shot-advantage including a 13-1 second half dominance. Katie Foster started in goal on Sunday and earned five saves.
Aside the postseason berth at stake Thursday night, the Warriors will also celebrate the careers of seniors Katelyn Nebesnick, Tina Benson, Keisha Lyons, Lauren Thornton and Karli Nester. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. against the Pioneers.