BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- After a grueling schedule of 19 matches, the CSU Bakersfield women's soccer team only has three Western Athletic Conference opponents standing in the way of a WAC title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners will welcome the rest of the conference to Bakersfield this week for the 2015 WAC Tournament, Nov. 5-6, 8, with a WAC Championship on the line.
“Words cannot describe how big this week is to our program,” said Gary Curneen, CSU Bakersfield's Head Coach. “To host the WAC Tournament is a fantastic opportunity. We will take it one game at a time and must take care of the New Mexico State game on Thursday.”
The 'Runners (5-11-3, 3-5-2 WAC) earned the No. 5 seed and will face off against the No. 4 seed, NM State (5-14-0, 4-6-0 WAC), Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Main Soccer Field. For the complete tournament bracket and schedule, see the linked PDF.
Since their first-ever meeting in 2012, the Roadrunners and Aggies have alternated as the winner and loser in all six matchups. The first three meetings went to overtime with NM State winning two out of three. Last year, the 'Runners won at home, 4-2, before falling to NMSU in the opening round of the WAC Tournament, 3-0.
On Oct. 2 of this year, CSUB evened the series at three games apiece with a 2-1 defeat of NMSU in Las Cruces. Sabrina Delgado put the 'Runners ahead with a 19th-minute goal, but the Aggies equalized early in the second half on Aileen Galicia's score. Aminah Settles put away a goal at 62:41 which would prove to be the game-winner. Redshirt senior Tori Ornela made nine saves in the match for CSUB.
“We are focused on producing our best for Thursday's game and I'm excited to see what we do with the energy and excitement that this week should bring,” Curneen said.
The inaugural season for the CSU Bakersfield women's soccer program was in 1996. Since then, the 'Runners have qualified for postseason play twice and will be looking for their first-ever postseason victory on Thursday.
Thanks to the CSUB marketing department, the first 50 students to a show a CSUB ID at the box office will receive a free ticket to Thursday night's match. Information on tickets for the WAC Tournament can be found at CSUB's ticketing page. For more details regarding tickets, or to inquire about ticket purchases, please contact the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office at (661) 654-2583 or email tickets@csub.edu.
~GoRunners.com~
