SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A full weekend is ahead for Cal State San Marcos Athletics as five of the Cougars’ 13 sports will be in action. Men’s and women’s soccer will begin California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play as both will host Cal State East Bay on Friday before welcoming Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday. CSUSM volleyball will continue CCAA action with home matches against Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State on Friday and Saturday in The Sports Center. The men’s and women’s cross country teams will begin their 2018 seasons on Saturday morning as the Cougars head to San Diego for the USD Invite.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Friday, Sept. 14 – 12:30 p.m.
CSUSM (1-2-1) vs. Cal State East Bay (5-0)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
Sunday, Sept. 16 – 11:30 a.m.
CSUSM vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (2-1)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars drew a 1-1 tie with Biola last Thursday before falling to cross-county foe Point Loma, 1-0, on Saturday.
•Freshman Madisen Bivens scored her first collegiate goal in the Biola match to give CSUSM the lead in the opening half.
EAST BAY BREAKDOWN •The Pioneers have opened 2018 strong by going undefeated in nonconference play, only allowing one goal those five contests.
•Sophomore Abby Buitrago is CSUEB’s leading scorer with four goals on six shots.
•CSUEB was picked to finish 12th in the CCAA Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
CSUMB SCOOP •The Otters went 1-1 in the first weekend of competition, falling 1-0 to Northwest Nazarene before collecting a 1-0 win over Minnesota Crookston two days later.
•The Biola Eagles collected a 1-0 win over CSUMB last Saturday.
•CSUMB was picked to finish 10th in the CCAA Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE RENNEISEN FILE •Head coach Bobby Renneisen enters his fifth year in charge of the women’s program and 13th overall at CSUSM
•Renneisen’s 2017 squad was the first CSUSM team sport to compete in the CCAA postseason.
•Between 2006-13, Renneisen was an assistant/associate head coach for both the men’s and women’s soccer teams.
•As the women’s head coach, Renneisen is 29-23-19 (.542) during his four years.
MEN’S SOCCER
Friday, Sept. 14 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM (4-0) vs. Cal State East Bay (1-2)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
Sunday, Sept. 16 – 2 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-2)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Cage
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars improved to 4-0 on the season with 2-1 wins over Montana State Billings and Saint Martin’s this past week.
•Freshman Josh Mendez knocked in two goals against SMU to becomes CSUSM’s goal leader with three on the season.
CSUEB DETAILS •The Pioneers opened 2018 with a 4-0 loss to Notre Dame de Namur on Aug. 30 before bouncing back with a 1-0 win over Academy of Art on Sept. 6. On Sept. 9, CSUEB dropped a 6-0 decision to visiting Colorado School of Mines.
•Senior Jonathan Ayala has scored CSUEB’s lone goal this season.
•CSUEB was picked to finish 13th in the CCAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
411 ON MONTEREY BAY •The Otters opened 0-2 with losses to Academy of Art (1-0, OT) and Colorado School of Mines (2-1, 2OT), before capturing a 3-1 victory against Holy Names on Sunday.
•CSUMB was selected to finish tied for 10th in the CCAA Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE PULVERS FILE •This season marks the 13th season for head coach Ron Pulvers at CSUSM.
•He notched his 100th win as the men’s head coach on Oct. 7, 2016 in a road victory over Cal State Monterey Bay.
•In 22 seasons as a collegiate head men’s soccer coach, Pulvers holds a 229-149-35 (.597) career record. He is 84-42-24 (.640) in charge of the CSUSM women’s program.
•From 2006-13, Pulvers led both the CSUSM men’s and women’s soccer teams.
VOLLEYBALL
Friday, Sept. 14
CSUSM (5-4) vs. Cal State East Bay (5-5)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
Saturday, Sept. 15
CSUSM vs. San Francisco State (6-3)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
LIVE STATS | COUGAR SPORTS NETWORK
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars opened CCAA action with a four-set victory over UC San Diego on Saturday at The Sports Center. Juniors Maddy Newcombe and Olivia Agular each tallied a match-high 11 kills.
•CSUSM’s win marks the first time the Cougars have opened conference play with a win since joining the CCAA in 2015.
CSUEB UPDATE •The Pioneers went 1-1 in CCAA play last weekend, falling in five sets on Friday to Cal State L.A. before recording a four-set win on Saturday against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
•CSUEB ranks last in service aces per set in the CCAA with an 1.29 average.
•The Pioneers were picked to finish second among the north schools in the CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
SCOUTING SF STATE •The Gators also split in their CCAA opening weekend, collecting a four-set victory against CSUDH on Friday before being swept by CSULA on Saturday.
•SF State has the second-highest hitting percentage (.275) in the conference.
•The Gators were picked to finish fifth among the north schools in the CCAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE LEONARD FILE •Head coach Andrea Leonard enters her eighth season in charge of the Cougar volleyball team, a program she has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010.
•Leonard was CSUSM’s first-ever CCAA Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to a third place finish in the overall standings last season.
MEN’S / WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Sept. 15
USD Invite
San Diego, Calif. – Tecolote Shores North Park
Meet Info | Course Map
RACE START TIMES
8:30 a.m. – Men’s 8k Collegiate
9:30 a.m. – Women’s 6K Collegiate
THIS SEASON •In the 2018 Preseason Regional Rankings, the men’s team is ranked seventh, joining four other CCAA schools in the top 10, while the women are eighth along with two other conference members.
•CSUSM will host its home meet, The Cougar Challenge, on Oct. 13 at Mangrum Track & Field. For more info, click here.
•New head coach Torrey Olson takes the helm for the 2018 season after spending the last six seasons at the Academy of Art University.
