Unbeaten Midwestern State stands between Wildcats and the Final Four

Kickoff of National Quarterfinal game at University Soccer Stadium Saturday at 1 PM

Pardon the folks who aren’t giving the Chico State men’s soccer team much of a chance in their NCAA Championship Tournament Quarterfinal game Saturday at University Soccer Stadium at 1 PM. The Wildcats are facing an unbeaten Midwestern State team ranked No. 2 in the nation that has outscored its opponents 61-11 on the way to a shimmering 18-0-2 record, after all.

However, those who are familiar with the story of the 2010 Wildcats know they’ve made a season out of making short work of long odds.

The Wildcats entered this season picked to finish third in the six-team California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) North Division. Only five starters were returning. The team entered this campaign with a grand total of 10 career goals between them. The lineup was full of freshmen – 10 to be exact.  And the Wildcats were coming off a fairly disappointing 8-8-4 campaign.

But all they did was start 8-1-0, knocking off perennial Great Northwest Athletic Conference powers Seattle Pacific and Western Washington and CCAA stalwarts Sonoma State and Cal State Dominguez Hills along the way, and go on to capture the North Division title with a game still to play.

Then, following their loss at Cal State Stanislaus after they had already wrapped up the title, and a first-round loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the CCAA Championship Tournament, many coaches around the West Region balked at their selection to the NCAA Championship Tournament. Once there, though, the Wildcats proved themselves worthy. They smacked 17th-ranked Sonoma State 2-0 in the first round before staging a courageous comeback with two goals in the final four minutes to beat 7th-ranked Grand Canyon in the Regional title game.

The Wildcats have yet another chance to surprise the skeptics Saturday.

Tickets for the game are now available at the University Box Office from 11 AM to 6 PM at the corner of West Second Street and Normal Avenue. Charge by phone at (530) 898-6333 or fax to (530) 898-5261 using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover. Ticket prices are as follows: $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for students with ID, and $3 for children 12-under.

That purchase price will allow you to see a Wichita Falls, Tex., based Midwestern State team ranked second in the nation in scoring and third in goals allowed. South Region Player of the Year Raul Herrera leads the Mustangs. The 2009 First Team All-American has surrendered only eight goals while registering seven shutouts and a 0.50 goals-against average this season. Defender Ryan Spence, a Second Team All-American in 2009, and midfielder Nathan Fitzgerald are also First Team All-South Region selections.

VcMor Eligwe, a redshirt freshman, leads a balanced offense with 10 goals and has also dished out five assists. In all, nine Mustangs have found the back of the net four times or more, while six have dished out four or more assists.

The Wildcats, 15-6-0, will counter with First Team All-West Region selections Ferid Celosmanovic and Chris Akwaja, and Second Team All-West Region picks Zach Bradford and Ryan Nevarez. They’ll also have the home crowd on their side for the first time ever at an NCAA Championship Tournament Quarterfinal. The Wildcats are 23-6-2 at home in Head Coach Felipe Restrepo’s first three seasons at the helm and they’re 11-2-0 at University Soccer Stadium this season, having limited their guests to just eight goals in 13 games.

Chico State is looking to return to the Final Four for the fifth time in school history and the first time since 2003.

A strong start Saturday would certainly embolden the Wildcats. They’re 13-0-0 when scoring first this season. Midwestern State, meanwhile, has allowed only two first-half goals this year. In fact, the Mustangs have trailed on only two occasions in 2010 – in both of their comeback wins against West Texas A&M – for a total of just over 68 minutes. The Mustangs ties came in consecutive road games Oct. 22 and 24 at Incarnate Word and St. Edward’s, respectively.

This is the Mustangs’ seventh trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament in the last nine years and the fourth time they’ve advanced to the quarterfinals. However, they’re just 0-3-1 in games with a Final Four berth on the line, having lost to Sonoma State 3-0 in 2002, Chico State 3-1 in 2003, and Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 in 2008. The Mustangs tied Sonoma State 2-2 in 2007 and advanced on penalty kicks before being eliminated on penalty kicks in the National Semifinals.

The Wildcats came into that 2003 matchup as underdogs as well. But they played with enough courage and determination to knock off the Mustangs that night. If they can do the same Saturday, they’ll be slugging it out at the Final Four in Louisville, Kentucky, Dec. 2-4.