Honk! Honk! A driver is looking for attention on West Sacramento Avenue, which skirts the north end of University Soccer Stadium. Boom! Boom! Boom! The base bumps from a freshman’s speakers through an open window inside of Mechoopda Hall, which flanks its east side. It’s high fives and hugs all around at the south end entrance, where people are meeting up before finding a place to sit. And the clank, clank, clank of fans searching for just the right spot in the aluminum bleachers to the west of the pitch reverberates in the night air.
Fans of the Chico State men’s soccer team will be quite familiar with all of these sounds by the end of the season (if you aren’t already), because the Wildcats will host 11 of their 18 regular season matches in 2010.
The Wildcats, 12-4-2 at the friendly confines in Felipe Restrepo’s two seasons at the helm, will host their only two non-conference matches. They start the season against Western Washington on Sept. 2, and then Seattle Pacific Sept. 6. Both matches kick off at 7 p.m.
They open up the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) slate at Cal State Monterey Bay Sept. 10 and wrap up the regular season at Cal State Stanislaus Oct. 30. In between, Chico State will play six straight at home between Sept. 17 and Oct. 3. The final three matches during that stretch will present quite a test for the Wildcats. Defending North Division champion Sonoma State visits University Soccer Stadium on Sept. 26. Defending West Region champion and 2008 National Champion Cal State Dominguez Hills is in town Oct. 1. And Defending South Division titlist Cal State L.A. visits Oct. 3.
Following that match the Wildcats will play four straight on the road before hosting three more matches prior to the regular season finale at Cal State Stanislaus.
CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE 2010 SCHEDULE
