Chaffey, Saddleback are neck-and-neck at top of CCCSIA women's soccer rankings

SAN BERNARDINO - The last time the women’s soccer teams from Chaffey College and Saddleback College met, it was for the state championship.

Tuesday, the two teams met again at Chaffey as the top two teams in the state in the weekly poll conducted by the California Community College Sports Information Association which closed before games were played that afternoon.

And just like last December, it was the No. 2 team – Saddleback – that defeated the No. 1 team in Chaffey, 2-1 in Rancho Cucamonga.

In the final polling, the two teams were already neck-and-neck. Chaffey was No. 1 by two points (175-173), receiving four first-place votes, to Saddleback’s five. The difference was the Panthers appearing as first or second selection on every ballot, which allowed Chaffey to jump over Saddleback from No. 3 to No. 1.

Last week’s No. 1, Cypress, fell to the sixth spot in this week’s voting after losing to the new No. 3, Mt. San Antonio, last week. The win propelled the Mounties up seven spots from No. 10 a week ago. The Chargers bounced back Tuesday with a draw with No. 4 Long Beach City, which moved up one spot in the poll.

The week’s other big mover was San Joaquin Delta, which jumped from a tie for 18^th into a tie for 10^th in this week’s poll. And three other teams jumped from receiving votes into the top 20 this week: No. 14 Reedley, No. 16 Pasadena City, and No. 20 (tie) Skyline.

(Bill Norris, CCCSIA)