By Nick Gasparro, Operations Assistant CVEATC
Chula Vista, CA – The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center (CVEATC) is excited to welcome back the Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) men’s and women’s soccer teams to campus. In total, 53 players will be participating in the training camp, which will run from Aug 8-12. PLNU Soccer is currently preparing for the start of the 2022 NCAA Div. II soccer season. During their stay, the teams will be training on our soccer fields, accessing our conference spaces, using our dining services and staying overnight. PLNU soccer are frequent visitors to the CVEATC, as they have been coming here for their preseason training camps since 2017.
PLNU Soccer, commonly referred to as the Sea Lions, play in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) since the 2012-13 season and became an active member of the NCAA in 2014. Prior to their NCAA move, the Sea Lions competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the NAIA for 26 years. The Women are 5X conference champions (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), meanwhile, the men are still looking for their first but have been knock on the door as of late. Recently, PLNU’s soccer facility went under a $250,000 transformation, in order to give the Sea Lions the best possible playing surface.
Both teams are coming off strong performances during the 2021 season. The men’s finished the season with a 11-4-1 overall record, which was good for second in the conference, the programs best finish in their PacWest history. Head Coach Phil Wolf won his 200th career game as a college coach during the process as well. The 2021 season also saw 4 Sea Lions make the ALL-PacWest Men’s Team, those players were: Parker Scalzo, Corey Lundeen, Mathew Abangan and Teague Anderson. Parker Scalzo was also named PacWest Player of the Year.
The women’s team is coming off yet another dominant season, finishing with a 13-2-2 overall record in 2021. With that, the Sea Lions secured a share of the regular season PacWest championship, the team’s third consecutive conference title. Ever since Head Coach Kristi Kiely took the position in 2018, the Sea Lions have gone 31-1-3 in conference play. The sole loss to University of Hawaii at Hilo snapped a PacWest record 34-match conference unbeaten streak, which dated back to 2017. The team also qualified for the 2021 NCAA Regionals where they made it to the second round, before falling to Western Washington University.
In total, 11 players earned all PacWest honors on the women’s team, with four receiving All-Region recognition. Junior Lauren O’Malley was recognized as the PacWest Defender of the Year, First Team All-Pac West and First Team All- Region. Alana Diaz, Hailey Clifford and Emma Thrapp also added their names to the All-PacWest First Team and were selected to the All-Region Second Team. Meanwhile, Naomi Ellis, Courtney Jo Seman and Emma Hinson each earned All-PacWest second team honors, with Bethany Arabe, Abby Schmidt, Makenna Herrero and Mara Sovde rounding out the awards with All-PacWest third team honors.
The CVEATC would like to welcome back the PLNU men’s and women’s soccer programs to campus, and wish them the best of luck as they continue their preparations for the 2022 NCAA soccer season.
Follow the link below to see PLNU’s summer training camp at the CVEATC:
To learn more about PLNU soccer, please follow the link below:
