Sonoma State was voted the favorite in the CCAA Women's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The Seawolves received nine first-place votes and 139 out of a possible 144 points.
 
Sonoma State returns three first team All-CCAA selections to a team that went 15-6-0 in 2021 and won the CCAA regular season with an 8-3-0 record. The Seawolves earned an at-large bid to the NCAA West Regional and picked up a first-round win with a 5-0 victory over Hawaii Hilo. It was the seventh consecutive season the Seawolves finished in the top 3 in the standings and their third CCAA championship since 2016. They will bring back eight starters to a team that allowed only 0.62 goals per match, including goalkeeper Phoebe Barnes and 2021 CCAA Defensive Player of the Year Julia Pritchard. Sonoma State was the top-scoring team in the conference last season and the only team to average over two goals per match (2.05).
 

2022 CCAA Women's Soccer Poll
1.	Sonoma State (9)	139
2.	Cal Poly Pomona	115
3.	Chico State (1)	112
4.	Cal State East Bay (1)	109
5.	Cal State LA	86
6.	Stanislaus State (1)	83
7.	San Francisco State	76
8.	Cal State Monterey Bay	64
9.	Cal State San Bernardino	45
10	Cal State San Marcos	44
11.	Cal Poly Humboldt	34
12.	Cal State Dominguez Hills	29
First-place votes in parenthesis

Six points are all that separated the following three teams in the poll. Cal Poly Pomona edged out Chico State and Cal State East Bay for second place with 115 points. The Wildcats followed with 112 points and one first place vote. Cal State East Bay was picked fourth with a first-place vote and 109 points.
 
The coaches' votes reflect that they expect Cal Poly Pomona to be back in the top half of the conference after missing out on the playoffs in 2021. The Broncos tallied 115 points without receiving a first-place vote after finishing last season at 8-6-3 (4-4-3 CCAA). They will bring back five starters and numerous letterwinners to a team that allowed just .704 goals per game and ranked 14th in NCAA Division II with a .588 shutout percentage. Cal Poly Pomona will rely on a collective team effort on the offensive end as they lost their top two goal scorers from last season.
 
Chico State placed second in the 2021 CCAA standings, two points back of Sonoma State. The Wildcats went 10-3-5 on the season and 6-1-4 in conference play. They will bring back 2021 CCAA Player of the Year, Susanna Garcia, and 2021 CCAA Freshman of the Year, Emma Hofmann. Garcia tied for the conference lead last year with seven goals and 17 points. She made her goals count as four were game-winners. Hofmann ranked 20th in NCAA Division II with just .580 goals allowed per game and 10th with a .872 save percentage. The Wildcats will also return five additional starters and 20 letterwinners to join Garcia and Hofmann.
 
Cal State East Bay is looking to continue the momentum it built within its program in 2021. After earning its best-ever finish in the regular season (third place), the Pioneers won three straight matches in the playoffs to capture the 2021 CCAA Tournament Championship and earn the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA West Regional. Senior defender and 2021 second team All-CCAA selection Jill Nelsen returns to anchor the backline, which yielded only 0.76 goals per game. The Pioneers (11-5-5, 6-3-2 CCAA) did not lose a game all season when they posted more than one goal.
 
Cal State LA and Stanislaus State rounded out the top half of the poll. The Golden Eagles earned 86 points to place fifth, and the Warriors finished sixth with 83 points and one first-place vote.
 
Cal State LA rebounded from a tough start last season and went 6-3-1 in its last 10 matches, including advancing past San Francisco State in the first round of the CCAA Tournament on penalty kicks to bring additional energy into 2022. Nine starters from the 2021 squad will be back, including keepers Areli Reyes and Olivia Spanish.  
 
Stanislaus State finished the season at 8-6-4 (5-3-3 CCAA) and with arguably the best defense in the CCAA as it led the conference in goals against average (.529) and save percentage .907. The Warriors defeated Cal State East Bay in the final game of the regular season to qualify for the postseason, but they could not repeat the task three days later in the CCAA Tournament.
 
San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay finished seventh and eighth in the voting. The Gators when from the bottom of the 2021 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll to placing fourth in the conference last year (8-8-3, 6-3-2 CCAA). Cal State Monterey Bay tied for seventh in the standings (7-5-5, 4-4-3 CCAA) thanks to a dominant home field advantage where it went 7-2-1 at the Otter Soccer Complex.
 
Cal State San Bernardino (45 points) edged Cal State San Marcos (44) for the ninth spot. Cal Poly Humboldt (34) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (29) completed the poll.
 
The 2022 season will begin on Aug. 25. Seven CCAA women's teams will lace up the cleats that day, and nine teams will compete over the weekend. Defending conference championships, Sonoma State will play the first game of the 2022 season on Thursday at Noon against Western Oregon. Click here to see the composite 2022 CCAA women's soccer schedule.
 
The teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA women's soccer tournament. The first round will be Oct. 30 on campus sites with the semifinals and finals taking place in Rohnert Park on Nov. 4 and 6. For more information, click here.
 
CCAA Preseason Watchlist (returning first or second team All-CCAA selections)
Carissa Capinpin (So., M, San Francisco State)
Malia Falk (So., F, Sonoma State)
Susanna Garcia (Sr., F, Chico State)
Emma Hofmann (So., GK, Chico State)
Jill Nelsen (Sr., D, Cal State East Bay)
Julia Pritchard (Sr., D, Sonoma State)
Mitsy Ramirez (Jr., M, Cal State Monterey Bay)
Lexi Zandonella-Arasa (So., M, Sonoma State)