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Cal State San Marcos held on to defeat defending CCAA Champions Cal State LA, 1-0, in the No. 2/3 matchup of the 2023 CCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
After not scoring a goal against each other in the regular season the past two years, it was a shot by Natalia Huntington early in the second half that helped bring a result. The teams were less than a minute into the second half when Lily Jensen set her teammate up for a shot to the top part of the goal. Cal State LA's keeper got a hand on the ball but was unable to deflect the hard shot, and it found the back of the net. It was Huntington's second goal of the season.
 
From there, the Cougars were a wall. They allowed one shot 10 minutes later and none in the final 34 minutes. They did a great job limiting the offensive options for the Golden Eagles, as only Liliana Gonzalez took a shot in the match (four). Cougars' goalkeeper Allison Marcure saved the only shot on goal.
 
Cal State San Marcos took 10 shots in the match, four on goal. Taesja Paopao had three saves for Cal State LA.
 
The win sends Cal State San Marcos (10-2-6) to the finals of the CCAA women's soccer tournament for the first time in program history. It was also CSUSM's first win in the CCAA Tournament. It had only advanced on penalty kicks in previous seasons.
 
Cal State LA hopes to continue its season at the NCAA West Regional. The Golden Eagles (9-2-8) were the highest-ranked CCAA team in the most recent NCAA West Regional poll, coming in at No. 3. The top 6 teams will go to the NCAA West Regional.
 
Cal State San Marcos will have a chance to earn the conference's automatic bid when it faces Cal Poly Pomona in the CCAA Tournament Championship on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.