If the NCAA West Regional soccer tournaments for men and women were held right now, both Cal State San Bernardino teams would be among the participants.
The latest polls issued by the championships committee for both sports show that the Coyotes men’s team is ranked No. 4 and the women’s team is No. 5 as of Tuesday.
However, there are four matches remaining in the regular season for both teams, starting Friday at UC San Diego and continuing Sunday at Cal State East Bay, certainly an out-of-the-ordinary road trip since East Bay is currently considered part of the South Division of the CCAA conference.
CSUSB women, currently 8-6-2 overall and 7-3-2 in the CCAA, will be tested Friday by a UCSD team that is ranked No. 2 in the West Region and No. 11 in the nation. The Tritons are 12-2 and defeated the Coyotes 2-0 in San Bernardino on Sept. 27. The women’s match is set for 4:30 p.m.
The Coyotes men, now 12-3-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the CCAA, face the Tritons — 7-5-4 overall and 4-5-3 in the CCAA at 7 p.m. at the La Jolla campus field. CSUSB won the first meeting, 1-0, on Sept. 27.
Both teams then travel 400-plus miles to Hayward to face the Pioneers on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. CSUSB swept the first meetings with East Bay by scores of 7-0 (men) and 5-0 (women).
The regular season ends with a home-and-home doubleheader with Cal Poly Pomona on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. The Oct. 30 matches will be the final home matches of the season for both Coyotes teams.
NCAA WEST REGIONAL POLLS
MEN — 1. Cal State L.A. (13-2-1); 2. Sonoma State (11-2-2); 3. Seattle Pacific (10-2-3); 4. COYOTES (12-3-1); 5. Grand Canyon (10-2-1); 6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-5-1).
WOMEN — 1. Seattle Pacific (13-1); 2. UC San Diego (12-2); 3. Cal State L.A. (12-2-2); 4. Chico State (7-3-5); 5. COYOTES (8-6-2); 6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (9-6); 7. San Franciso State (7-6-3); 8. Western Washington (8-4-2); 9. Dixie State (8-3); 10. Humboldt State (7-7-2).