Cal State San Bernardino's women's soccer players might as well adopt the mindset, if they haven't already, that it will take two victories this week for them to advance to the post-season. 
    The Coyotes, 9-7-2 overall and 8-4-2 in the CCAA, got some bad news Wednesday when they were dropped from No. 5 to No. 9 in the NCAA West Regional poll that will ultimately determine the six teams to advance to the regional in mid-November. 
    It may take back-to-back wins over No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona on Friday at Coyote Premier Field and Sunday at Kellogg Field on the Pomona campus for them to move back up to at least sixth in the NCAA region poll. Six teams will advance to the NCAA tournament. Match time is 12:30 p.m. both days.
    In the CCAA, only one team (UC San Diego) has been assured of a berth in the conference championship tournament Nov. 5-8 at Cal State Stanislaus. Another berth will automatically be occupied by the North Division champion and that berth is still up for grabs heading into the final two matches of the regular season. 
    The third and fourth berths will most assuredly go to South Division teams and therein lies the rub. The Coyotes, Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills are three teams vying for the two remaining spots based on points earned through wins and ties. 
    UCSD had 33 points off its 11-3 conference record. Cal State L.A. is at 32 (10-2-2) while the Toros are 9-5 (27 points) and the Coyotes have 26 points off their 8-4-2 conference mark. 
    While the Coyotes play the Broncos at 12:30 p.m. Friday, the Toros have what should be an easy match at Cal State East Bay (2-10-2) while L.A. is at UC San Diego where the Tritons have already clinched a CCAA berth and are a virtual cinch to advance to regionals since they are currently ranked No. 1 in the West this week. 
    On Sunday, while the Coyotes and Broncos battle it out at 12:30 p.m. in Pomona, UCSD will host the Toros and Cal State L.A. will be at Cal State East Bay. 
    Two wins by the Coyotes would give them 32 points. A win and a tie would give them 30. Will it be enough? Unfortunately, it will still depend on how L.A. and Dominguez fare. 
    MOST CONFERENCE WINS – The Coyotes have established a new team record for CCAA wins, having won their eighth at Cal State East Bay last Sunday. The previous best mark by any CSUSB women's team since the university joined the CCAA in 1991-92 is seven. 
    COYOTES VS. BRONCOS – Cal Poly leads the series 22-10 with five ties. The Coyotes won both matches in 2008 but are 4-7-1 against the Broncos since 2002. 
    SENIOR DAY -- Coyote Athletics and the coaching staff will recognize five seniors before Friday's match who are playing the final home match of their four-year collegiate careers -- Ashley Salas, Lisa Montgomery, Laura Lyons, Lauren Zellmer and Melissa Castillo.
    YOTES NOTES -- Kristina Gomez has scored all six of her team-leading goals in CCAA play and she has four match-winning goals, tying her for first place in the CCAA in that category….junior Unity Beddingfield is the team points leader with four goals, three of which were match-winners and a team-high six assists for 14 points…..junior Katie Liby had three goals and five assists for 11 points….sophomore Jaclyn Clark has three goals on the season….CSUSB has outscored opponents 21-16 thus far and shut out four opponents…..goalkeeper Laura Lyons has all four shutouts to her credit and has a 0.91 goals against average and an 82 percent save percentage with 67 saves……on corner kicks, CSUSB has an 81-50 edge over opponents but is having trouble putting the ball in the net off those corner kicks…..Friday is Senior Day at Coyote Premier Field with seniors Ashley Salas, Laura Lyons, Lisa Montgomery, Lauren Zellmer and Melissa Castillo playing the final home game of their collegiate careers. They will be honored in pre-match ceremonies…..CSUSB is 4-2-1 in its last seven contests….. 
    NCAA WEST REGION POLL (oct. 28) – 1. UC San Diego (14-3); 2. Seattle Pacific (14-2); 3. Cal State L.A. (13-2-2); 4. Chico State (7-3-7); 5. CS Dominguez Hills (10-6); 6. Dixie State (11-3); 7. Western Washington (9-4-2); 8. San Francisco State (7-7-3); 9. COYOTES (9-7-2); 10. Cal Poly Pomona (9-9). 
    NSCAA WEST REGION POLL (coaches – Oct. 27) – 1. Seattle Pacific; 2. Cal State L.A.; 3. UC San Diego; 4.(tie) Coyotes and CS Dominguez Hills; 6. Western Washington; 7. Dixie State; 8. Chico State; 9. San Francisco State; 10. Saint Martins. 
    NSCAA NATIONAL TOP 25 (coaches –Oct. 27) – 1. West Florida (16-0); 6. Seattle Pacific; 16. Cal State L.A.; 18. UC San Diego.