Women's soccer splits

The CSUS women's soccer team stayed on an even keel this past week, splitting two games. Unfortunately, that might not be good enough. The Hornets beat Idaho State at home 2-0, and then lost 3-0 to Weber State on the road, placing them at 7-7 for the season. Despite the .500 record, the Hornets are 1-4 in the Big Sky, and need wins in the final three conference games to even have a chance of going to the Big Sky playoffs.

The start was promising as the Hornets bounced back on Thursday to beat Idaho State soundly by a 2-0 score. CSUS was clearly more intense than they had been in a long time, and the Idaho squad was hard pressed to get the ball out of their own end in the first fifteen minutes. Idaho stayed tough in the first half and were able to keep the Hornets off the board.

Finally, Jessica Mackiewicz broke the scoreless tie in the 55th minute when she broke through on the left side and finished the ball easily. With the game by no means won, the Hornets continued to press and were able to put the game away, but not until stoppage time. Again it was Mackiewicz who scored in much the same fashion as before, after Lori Kerswell slipped a ball to her on the left side.

Becky Powers was happy to see the real Hornets back in action. "Last weekend wasn't our team," she said. "This was a definite booster -- we have the confidence that we can go win the conference now."

For the Hornets, it is becoming very difficult to score goals, let alone win games on the road in the Big Sky. One only needs to look as far as the Hornets' 5-1 home record, compared to an 0-3 record after last weekends loss to Weber State. Midfielder Kristin Hoffman put it simply, but best, when she said, "We did not play very well."

What remains for the Hornets is a very tough three game shoot-out for the final spot in the four-team Big Sky playoff. On the positive side of things, all three remaining games take place at home, and given the Hornets' tough home record, winning all three is well within reason. Another plus is that the games are against Eastern Washington, Montana, and Portland State. Eastern Washington and Montana are among the teams the Hornets need to pass to get into the playoffs. CSUS' fate does not lie entirely in their own hands though, as three wins does not automatically qualify them.

All said, there should be some exciting soccer ahead for the team as they push towards the playoffs.