Men's Soccer | 10/4/2016 1:01:00 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-- After defeating then No. 12 Cal State L.A. 1-0 on the road this past Sunday, the San Francisco State Gators have moved up sixth in the NSCAA NCAA Division II Men West Region Poll 5. This is the third straight week that the Gators have been ranked in the top ten in this poll.
The Gators (6-4, 3-3 CCAA) are one of seven CCAA teams that are ranked in the top ten with the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) having two members ranked and the PacWest having one team in the top ten.
Simon Fraser from the GNAC leads the way being ranked number one followed by CCAA members Cal State L.A., Cal State Dominguez Hills, UC San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona. Rounding out the top ten are
San Francisco State, Montana State Billings (GNAC), Dixie State (PacWest), Cal State San Bernardino (CCAA) and Sonoma State (CCAA). Three of the top ten teams in the West Region are also in the top 25 in the nation. Simon Fraser is second followed by Cal State L.A. at No. 13 and Cal State Dominguez Hills at No. 20.
San Francisco State went 1-1 last weekend as the Gators lost at Cal State Dominguez Hills 1-0 last Friday evening. The Gators, under the direction of first-year head coach
Javier Ayala-Hil, came back on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 win at then No. 12 Cal State L.A.
Richard Leon connected on a punt by goalkeeper,
Emmanuel Jimenez, for the game-winner with just 8 seconds left in regulation. This was Leon's team leading fourth goal of the year and third game-winning goal. Jimenez recorded four saves en route to his 4.5 shutout of the season.
With their 3-3 conference record, the Gators are in a tie for fifth place in the CCAA standings with Cal State L.A each with 9 points. The top six teams at the end of the regular season on October 30 will receive a bid to the CCAA Soccer Championships, Nov. 1, 4-6. The first round will take place on November 1 with the top two seeds receiving a first round bye. The three and four seeds will host the first round matches. The semi-final and final matches will take place November 4 and 6 on the campus of Stanislaus State in Turlock, Calif.
The Gators will return home this weekend for a pair of CCAA games. They will host UC San Diego, who is fourth in the region, this Friday, October 7 at 3pm at Cox Stadium. Then on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, San Francisco State will entertain Cal State San Marcos.
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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
