LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s women’s soccer team, coming off its first California Collegiate Athletic Association championship, is one of three conference programs to be included in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason poll.
The Golden Eagles, who enjoyed the best season in the program’s history in 2009, are ranked 14th in the nation in the NSCAA poll that was released on Tuesday. Cal State L.A. was 17-3-2 last season and has 14 players returning from last year’s squad.
Cal State L.A. will open its 2010 season with a road match at California Baptist on Sept. 4 before opening conference play at UC San Diego on Sept. 10. The Golden Eagles will play their first home game in a conference match against San Francisco State on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.
Cal State Dominguez Hills is ranked fourth in the nation in the preseason poll, while UC San Diego is ranked 20th. A fourth West Region team, Seattle Pacific, is ranked 17th.
Cal State L.A. will be looking to build upon the best season in the program’s history. The Golden Eagles captured the CCAA South Division title with a 12-2-2 conference mark and then blanked Chico State, 1-0, and Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4-0, to win the CCAA Championship Tournament and their first conference title.
Cal State L.A. earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region, but fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2-1, in the regional semi-finals.
The Golden Eagles were making just the second NCAA Tournament appearance in the program’s history, but also the second in three years.
Head coach Chris Chamides, who earned CCAA Coach of the Year honors in both women’s and men’s soccer last season, will welcome back seven starters and 14 players from last year’s team, including five who earned post-season honors.
Leading the list of returners is senior forward/midfielder Liz Franco, who became the program’s all-time leading scorer last season in her third year with the program. She was named the CCAA Offensive Player of the Year, the Daktronics West Region Player of the Year and also earned third-team NSCAA All-America honors. Franco scored 13 goals with 17 assists for a total of 43 points in 2009. Senior forward Alex Conley is back for her second year with the program after scoring 11 goals and adding six assists for 28 points. She earned All-CCAA first-team recognition and Daktronics All-West Region first-team honors. Senior Caroline Hanna is the lone defender returning after she earned All-West Region honors a year ago, while senior goalie Jessie Walworth returns after earning All-CCAA second-team honors. Sophomore forward Ann Marie Tangorra was the CCAA Co-Freshman of the Year in 2009 and received All-CCAA honorable mention. She scored 10 goals and added six assists for 26 points.