As school reconvenes at California State University, East Bay for the fall semester, so too will Pioneer sports.
The fall slate of sports at CSUEB will feature men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, golf, and women’s swimming.
The first official game of the fall semester will feature the women’s soccer team, in their season opener against Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 5 at Pioneer stadium.
The Pioneers will be led by senior midfielder Chace Miguel and junior midfielder Abby Buitrago. Sophomore goalkeeper Briana Vasquez-Ortiz will also return after making 73 saves during the 2018 season.
Women’s volleyball, coming off of its stellar 2018 season in which the team made the NCAA Division II championship tournament, will make their 2019 debut on Sept. 6. In a double header, the Pioneers will take on Seattle Pacific and Point Loma on the first day of the Point Loma Nazarene University Seaside Challenge, which will take place in San Diego.
The women’s volleyball team will make their home debut on Sept. 20, which will also be their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener, against University of California, San Diego.
Men’s soccer will have a short trip in Salt Lake City, UT from Sept. 6 to Sept. 8 to take on Fort Lewis and Westminster, respectively. The team’s home debut will come on Sept. 15, at Pioneer stadium against the University of Texas-Permian Basin.
Both men’s and women’s cross country will debut on Sept. 14, with the men’s team appearing in the Kim Duyst invitational and the women’s team also at Stanislaus State.
The women’s golf team will begin play in the RJGA Shootout at Estrella from Sept. 22 to Sept. 24, at the golf club of Estrella, in Goodyear, Arizona. The team will also compete in the Sonoma State Fall Invitational at the Foxtail golf club in Rohnert Park from Oct. 20 to Oct. 22.
On August 26, the Division II Athletics Directors Association announced the recipients of the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Awards for the 2018-19 season. To earn this award, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, attended four semesters of college-level work and have been an active member of their team during their last academic year, according to EastBayPioneers.com.
CSUEB saw 52 student-athletes earn awards, the second-highest total in the CCAA, behind only California State University, Monterey Bay.