In a very close race at the top of the CCAA Women's Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, Cal Poly Pomona edged out Cal State San Marcos and Cal State LA as the favorites to win the 2024 regular season.
 
Cal Poly Pomona earned 134 points and six first-place votes to finish one point ahead of Cal State San Marcos (133 points), which collected three first-place votes. Cal State LA received multiple first-place votes and finished third in the poll with 124 points.
 

2024 WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Cal Poly Pomona (6)	134
Cal State San Marcos (3)	133
Cal State LA (2)	124
Cal Poly Humboldt	95
Chico State	94
Stanislaus State (1)	90
Cal State San Bernardino	66
Sonoma State	52
Cal State Monterey Bay	49
San Francisco State	45
Cal State East Bay	33
Cal State Dominguez Hills	21
(first-place votes in parentheses)

It was also very close for the fourth spot on the list as Cal Poly Humboldt earned 95 points, and Chico State finished with 94 points. Stanislaus State received the final first-place vote and placed sixth in the preseason poll with 90 points.
 
Cal State San Bernardino was seventh in the poll with 66 points, and Sonoma State placed eighth with 52 points. The ninth spot in the poll went to Cal State Monterey Bay with 49 points. San Francisco State finished 10th with 45 points. Cal State East Bay (33) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (21) rounded out the list.
 
Cal Poly Pomona is the defending CCAA regular-season champions. The Broncos went 11-5-3 (8-2-1 CCAA) last year to claim the program's first-ever regular season title. CPP will return nearly its whole starting lineup, including goalkeeper Bella Hara and fellow All-CCAA selections Jaclyn Cuevas (F), Tara Oper (F), Auburn Burnett (MF), and Liberty Ortiz (D).
 
Cal State San Marcos was in the hunt for the regular season title until the final weekend of the regular season. It finished second to claim the No. 2 seed in the CCAA Tournament before making a run to the program's first CCAA soccer championship, tournament, or regular season. CCAA Player of the Year Natalie Paulson returns for her junior season. She was an anchor for the Cougars on the backline along with goalkeeper Allison Marcure. The pair helped CSUSM rank 14th in NCAA Div. II in goals against average (.544) and eighth in shutout percentage (.650).
 
Cal State LA went unbeaten in CCAA play last season, going 5-0-6 (9-3-9 overall). It finished third in the regular season and earned a bid to the NCAA West Regional for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Golden Eagles led the CCAA and ranked sixth in Div. II with a .471 goals against average. Cal State LA will return first-team All-CCAA goalkeeper Taesja Paopao along with five other starters.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2023, capping it off with a victory in the first round of the CCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks led the conference in many offensive categories, including shots per game (16.8) and shots on goal per game (7.5). They were also second in save percentage and will have their starting goalkeeper, Carson Thomson-Terrel, back for her junior season. Humboldt will have six starters back from its team that went 13-5-2 (6-4-1 CCAA) in 2023.
 
Chico State went 11-7-1 last season and finished in a three-way tie for fourth with 19 points (6-4-1 CCAA). The Wildcats finished right behind Humboldt in shots per game (12.84) and shots on goal per game (6.0). Keeper Emma Hofmann led the CCAA with 77 saves and earned All-CCAA honors for the third consecutive season.
 
Stanislaus State will bring back 14 letterwinners to a team that went 8-6-5 (5-2-4 CCAA) last season. The 2023 Freshman of the Year Aliah Avila returns along with the 2022 All-CCAA selection Sabrina Cabrera. Last season, Stanislaus State was the top assist team in the conference, with 1.47 assists per game. The Warriors ranked second in points per game (4.42) and were third in save percentage (.820). Keepers Malia Allen and Natalia Ochoa are both back.
 
Cal State San Bernardino was in the chase for CCAA postseason play until the season's final match, finishing one point out of the three-way tie (18 points). The Coyotes went 8-6-4 on the season, which included a six-match unbeaten stretch at the end of the season to give themselves a chance at postseason play. CSUSB was the top-scoring offense in the conference last season, with 1.61 goals per match.
 
Sonoma State is looking to bounce back after a down year in 2023. The Seawolves had won three consecutive CCAA regular season titles and lost only five matches in the previous three seasons, but they went just 3-9-5 last season.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (49 points), San Francisco State (45), Cal State East Bay (33), and Cal State Dominguez Hills (21) round out the 2024 CCAA Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
To follow the action in the CCAA, sign up for the FloSports package. You can subscribe here at $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year ($8.33/month).
 
The following student-athletes were selected for the 2024 CCAA Men's Soccer Watchlist. All 23 earned first or second team 2023 All-CCAA honors or were voted to the CCAA All-Tournament Team.
 

2024 CCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER WATCHLIST
Name	Yr.	Pos.	School
Aliah Avila	So.	MF	Stanislaus State
Klayre Barres	Sr.	D	Chico State
Auburn Burnett	Sr.	MF	Cal Poly Pomona
Sabrina Cabrera	Sr.	F	Stanislaus State
Jaclyn Cuevas	Sr.	F	Cal Poly Pomona
Bella Hara	Sr.	GK	Cal Poly Pomona
Natalia Huntington	Jr.	F	Cal State San Marcos
Lilliana Gonzalez	Sr.	MF	Cal State LA
Megan Janikowski	Sr.	D	Cal Poly Humboldt
Nani Kia'aina	So.	F	Cal State San Marcos
Allison Marcure	Sr.	GK	Cal State San Marcos
Shelby Melin	Sr.	MF	Cal State LA
Natalie Mendoza	Sr.	MF	Chico State
Tara Oper	Sr.	F	Cal Poly Pomona
Jaclyn Orozco	Sr.	D	Cal State LA
Jassmin Ortiz	Sr.	MF	Cal State LA
Liberty Ortiz	Jr.	D	Cal Poly Pomona
Taesja Paopao	Sr.	GK	Cal State LA
Natalie Paulson	So.	D	Cal State San Marcos
Marisa Salazar	Jr.	MF	Cal Poly Pomona
Giselle Samayoa	Jr.	D	Cal Poly Pomona
Mika Sayfurahman	Jr.	MF	Cal State East Bay
Unieque Solis	Jr.	MF	Cal State San Bernardino