All roads lead to Sacramento for 3C2A Men's and Women's Soccer Championships

Tournament Central (watch games [BAOSN], live stats, photos, program) 

SACRAMENTO - The California community college men's and women's soccer world will converge on Sacramento this weekend for the 3C2A State Championships at American River College, bringing culmination to an exciting 2024. Semifinal action will be on Friday with men's games at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., followed by the women's semis at 4 and 7 p.m. Three of last year's participants return with defending women's champion Folsom Lake, women's state finalist Cypress and men's finalist Cuyamaca. They'll be joined on the men's side by Cañada , Long Beach City and Butte while 2022 titlist Saddleback and City College of San Francisco round out the women's field.

All games will be streamed online by BAOSN.tv for $12 (plus fees) per day. Links are available on the 3C2A Tournament Central page or by visiting BAOSN.tv.

The weather, while still expected to be cloudy and chilly as Friday progresses, will hopefully not be a repeat of 2022 when rain was the dominant player, particularly during the championship matches. Sunday's weather is calling for 76 degrees and mostly sunny conditions.

Following are brief previews of each of the semifinal games.

MEN
(S2) Cuyamaca (17-4-2) vs. (N1) Cañada (14-3-7) 
Cuyamaca has won 13 straight games and are the Pacific Coast Conference champions. They are led by Esteban Salais's 13 goals and Enrique Rodriguez, who has 13 assists on the year.  The Coyotes have scored 58 goals on the year and have allowed 18 goals.

Cañada needed PKs to top Merced and advance to the state semi-finals. They defeated 3C2A powerhouses CCSF and Folsom Lake in the first two playoff rounds. Justin Galvez leads the Colts with nine goals, while Noah Lake has a team-high six assists.

(N2) Butte (17-4-4) vs. (S1) Long Beach City (19-3-3)
Butte's high powered offense has 89 goals on the year and is led by Lenny Dupouyet's 20 goals and 14 assists. Butte has five other players with five or more goals on the year. Butte won its last three playoff games on the road.

Long Beach is led by Jose Mariscal and his 13 goals, along with midfielder Ulises Grado's eight goals and a team-leading 10 assists.

(N2) City College of San Francisco (17-2-3) vs. (S1) Cypress (20-1-3)
A rematch of an August 31 contest at Ventura College. Cypress came out on top 2-1 on a  90^th minute goal by Alma Manzano from Jasmin Martinez.

CCSF is paced by Paige Pineda-Aliamus's 22 goals and 13 assists.

The Chargers are led by Itzel Ramirez's 11 goals and 11 assists. Megan Alcantara has also scored 11 goals in 2024.

(S2) Saddleback (18-2-3) vs. (N1) Folsom Lake (21-1-2)
A rematch of the last two 3C2A championships. Saddleback won in 2022 at American River, while Folsom Lake prevailed in 2023 at Mt. SAC.

The Bobcats are led by Anjelina Nieto's 15 goals, while Jinan Said has 12 goals and 10 assists for the south's No. 1 seed.

Defending state champion Folsom Lake heads to American River, just down the road from the FLC campus, in search of back-to-back titles. The Falcons are led by Tea Reyes with 21 goals and nine assists and Kylie Deome with a team-leading 12 assists.

(David Silverstein, CCCSIA)