Stanislaus women reach NCAA soccer Sweet 16

It turns out that two weeks of rest was just what the Cal State Stanislaus women’s soccer team needed.

The Warriors, who got the extended rest because they missed qualifying for their own conference tournament, have embarked on the postseason with the vigor of a team taking on a brand-new season.

And with Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Western Washington, Stanislaus continues to blaze a new path for the program.

By taking down the West Region’s top team just two days after beating Seattle Pacific 2-1 in overtime, the Warriors (15-4-1) – who never had won an NCAA postseason game before this year – have advanced to the Division II Women’s Soccer Tournament Sweet 16.

Next up for Stanislaus will be a rematch with Cal Poly Pomona at a host site in the South Central Region. Depending on the outcome of this afternoon’s game, the site will be Golden, Colo., or Commerce or Austin, Texas. The Warriors lost 1-0 at Pomona on Oct. 12.

“This team executed our game plan to perfection today. I told them they are advancing because they are the most coachable team I’ve ever coached,” coach Gabriel Bolton said.

The game’s lone goal came with 24 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the first half when Kirsten Coleman dribbled to the right goal line and flipped the ball back to senior Tina Benson, who blasted the ball into the right side.

“Kirsten did an amazing job of beating their defenders and slotted a perfect ball to Tina,” Bolton said. “The finish was incredible. Our seniors are a big reason why we are still playing. The have absolutely taken control of this team and this season.”

Western Washington (16-1-4) had outscored teams 32-6 and had registered 14 shutouts this season. The Vikings also were unbeaten (20-0-1) in their last 21 home games. But Stanislaus counters with one of the nation’s best road records. In a run dating back to the middle of the 2011 season, the Warriors are 24-3-4 away from Turlock.

“Our conference prepares us very well for this level of competition,” Bolton said. “From the travel demands ... to all the great teams we face, every single week we knew we were prepared to handle anything SPU or Western could throw our way.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Stanislaus women reach NCAA soccer Sweet 16."