CSUDH Soccer Teams Head to Seattle for Opening Round of NCAA Playoffs
Both the men's and women's teams enter NCAA Far West Regionals as No. 2 seeds
November 8, 2004

CARSON, Calif.--Both the men's and women's soccer teams will be heading to the Great Northwest to begin the first round of the 2004 NCAA playoffs as announced by the NCAA Monday afternoon. Both squads enter the Far West Regionals as the No. 2 seeds.

Men's Regional
On the men's side, the regional consists of three teams and will be hosted by Seattle University (18-0-1). CSUDH (17-3-2), the No. 2 seed, will take on league rival and No. 3 seed Cal State Bakersfield (15-4-3) on Friday, Nov. 12 at 1 PM. The game will be a rematch of the CCAA title game played just yesterday on Toro Field, with the Roadrunners stunning top-seeded CSUDH, 2-0. The winner of that semifinal will take on host Seattle University, which is ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas polls and is undefeated on the year, on Sunday, Nov. 14 beginning at 1 PM. In the Toros' season opener in the Emerald City, Seattle University defeated the Toros in overtime, 3-2.

Though a potential regional rematch against Seattle University looms, however, the Toros have a much more important rematch to consider - one that is closer to home, and one that stings just a little more.

"The guys have had a great season, but didn't play our best in the conference finals," head coach Joe Flanagan reflects about the loss to the 'Runners. "I'm looking for them to come out really focused and ready to play. It's a good rivalry, always has been, always will be, and I'm looking for a very good game."

CSUDH, ranked No. 10 in last week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national poll, will be making its fifth-consecutive NCAA postseason appearance.

For advance ticket sales, contact Laci Sprinkle at the Seattle University Ticket Office at (206) 296-6400. Please note that no advance tickets will be sold after 3 PM on Nov. 11. Ticket prices are: $6 Adults; $2 Students (w/I.D.) and $2 Children (8-12).

Women's Regional
On the women's side, the regional consists of the top four teams in the Far West and will be hosted by the region's top seed, Seattle Pacific (19-0-1). CSUDH climbed three places this week to the No. 2 spot in the region after wins last week over UCSD and Chico State in the CCAA Championship Tournament, leap-frogging Chico State, UC San Diego and Seattle University, which left UCSD as the odd team out.

Seattle Pacific, also ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas national poll, will take on No. 4 seed Chico State (11-5-4) on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 PM at Interbay Stadium. No. 2 seed CSUDH (14-5-3) and No. 3 seed Seattle University (14-3-3) will face each other on Thursday in the early semifinal beginning at 4 PM. The Far West Region Championship game will be played on Saturday night (Nov. 13) at 7 PM.

"After bringing in 18-20 players this year, to get into the NCAAs is a great accomplishment and I am extremely proud of our girls so far," Flanagan begins. "It's been a great season in that they really started to believe in what we were doing and I think once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen. They're young enough to not know the difference, they believe in themselves now and I think we're a team to be reckoned with."

The winners of this weekend's Far West Regional Championships will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals against the winner of the Midwest Regional Championship on a date and at a site yet to be determined.

Tickets can be ordered by calling (206) 281-2085 (at Seattle Pacific University) and must be prepaid by Visa or MasterCard. These will be put at "Will Call" and can be picked up one hour prior to game time. Ticket prices are: $6 Adults; $3 Students (w/I.D.)