HAYWARD, Calif. — Playoff time has arrived a little early for the Pioneers.

The Cal State East Bay women's soccer team finds itself in postseason mode this week with two key road contests. The Pioneers play at Chico State on Thursday, Nov. 7, beginning at 7 p.m., before facing No. RV Stanislaus State on Saturday, Nov. 9, at  2 p.m.

Both contests will have live stats and will be streamed live.

CSUEB (5-8-3, 4-5-1 CCAA) is currently seventh in the conference standings with the top six advancing to the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament beginning Nov. 12.

Chico State (8-7-1, 4-6) stands right behind the Pioneers in eighth place, while Stanislaus State (12-4, 6-4) is currently fourth. This season's CCAA final standings are determined on a points per match formula.

However, not much has changed in terms of the coaches' message to the team this week.

"We've had the same message the last couple games," said head coach Robin Hart. "'Rising tide lifts all boats. What can you do to rise the tide?'

"It's deciding to show up individually and collectively in ways that's going to help the team win. When multiple players are going well, the team does well."

Despite coming off two road defeats in Southern California last weekend against No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, the Pioneers are excited to make the most of their opportunity this time around.

"Obviously, it's a big week for us," said Hart. "We'd like to finish with a strong push in conference play, not only to make the tournament, but to finish on a strong note.

"We feel like we're playing our best soccer right not, but haven't had the results recently. We'd like to back it up these last two conference games."
 
PIONEER POINTS

• Junior midfielder Lauren McDougal leads the Pioneers and ranks fourth in the CCAA with seven goals. McDougal's 15 total points rank seventh in the conference
• Freshman Jordan Smith's 88 saves leads the CCAA, while her 5.87 saves per contests is also the best in the conference
• Cal State East Bay already has four conference wins this season with two left to play, which is the most the Pioneers have had since 2013