Box Score "It's playoff time."

The above quote, spoken by CSUSM Head Coach Ron Pulvers following his women's soccer team's 6-0 blowout victory over Embry-Riddle, is probably the best way to sum up the reason behind the Cougars' most dominating performance of the season.

After all, when these same two teams met just a couple weeks ago in Arizona, it was a tightly-played and seemingly evenly-matched game in which the Cougars were able to eke out a 1-0.  All signs, then, pointed to Saturday's playoff contest being just as closely fought.

But the Cougars had other ideas.  A flight to San Antonio had no affect on the team's performance, as they rose to the occasion and played their best game of the season.

"It was a very, very solid collective effort," commented Pulvers.  "We kept our focus and poise to make this result happen."

CSUSM led 1-0 at halftime, thanks to a goal scored by Katelyn Krauss and assisted by Brittany Boyce.  But the Cougars would blow the game wide open early in the second half, scoring four goals in a 14-minute span from the 53rd minute to the 67th. 

It started with Krauss, who tallied her second goal of the match off a pass from Taylor Ziencina at 53:29.  Next was fellow forward Lauren Johnson, who knocked one in at 64:03.  After that, speedy sub Clarissa Hidalgo scored at 67:44 off Brittany Boyce's second assist, making it 4-0.  Just 15 second later, Taylor Schurman added an exclamation point to the rally with her fourth goal of the season.  Later on in the 87th minute, Caitlin Luna would find Hidalgo for her second goal of the match, making the final score 6-0.

CSUSM will play in the A.I.I. Championship Game tomorrow against top-seeded Simon-Fraser, who dispatched of Lambuth 7-0 in today's early game.  That promises to be an outstanding contest, and the Cougars will have little time to enjoy today's big victory.

"After playing the close game two weeks ago, we wanted to make a statement today," noted Pulvers.  "I think we did that."