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ARCATA, Calif. – Still undefeated after a 1-0 victory last Friday against Oregon Tech achieved by virtue of Alex Jenkins' Golden Goal in overtime, the Humboldt State women's soccer team hits the road this week to open CCAA conference play.
The Jacks will face Cal State East Bay on Friday in Hayward at 4:30 p.m. and then take on Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Last season, the Jacks lost on the road to the Pioneers 2-1 and claimed a victory over the Otters 1-0 at home.
Jenkins, with three goals in this young season, was able to find the back of the net off an assist from Rose Harman against Oregon Tech to send the Jacks to 3-0. Twenty-one different Jacks logged minutes in the game, which Head Coach Paul Karver called "a very gutsy team performance."
Coach Karver was mindful of the challenge presented by conference play as his team begins that portion of their schedule.
"It's always a jump," said Karver. "It doesn't matter who you play in the preseason because yes, we've played great teams, and we've set up a very difficult preseason. But the reality is that the CCAA is the best conference in the country, and every single team can beat any team on any given day. So if you're not prepared and you're not ready to take the steps forward that you have to take as a collective unit, you're going to slip up and something bad's going to happen. That's a message that we've already given to one another."
The defense has been a constant for HSU as well this season, having given up just one goal in three games thus far.
"Every defender we have that can play back there is absolutely phenomenal," said junior Jensen Smith. "We all work so hard to make sure no matter who's in, no matter what the situation is, how much pressure we're under, that we all have each other's back. We've worked really hard to keep the bond there no matter who's back there."
The Pioneers are 2-3 and are coming off a 4-0 loss to Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 10. The Otters are 2-1-1 and are coming off an impressive 6-0 victory against Holy Names. Ashlee Cortez has contributed two goals and four assists thus far this season.
