RIVERSIDE (Oct. 28, 2013)--California Baptist University made history this past weekend when its women's soccer team became the Lancers first athletic program to earn a berth in the NCAA II National Championships.

The Lancers clinched the PacWest's automatic qualifying berth to the 2013 NCAA II Women's Soccer National Championship Tournament and will compete in the West Region bracket starting in mid-November.

The PacWest regular-season still has two weeks remaining on its schedule, but the Lancers - with 27 points on a 9-1-0 record - have created enough distance to grab the AQ.

At 7-3-1, Dixie State has 22 points but only one game remaining. The Red Storm can get to 25 points if they beat California Baptist in their regular-season finale.

Hawai'i Hilo, the PacWest's lone ranked team in the West Region poll, is 6-3-1 and has 19 points with two games remaining. Like the Red Storm, the Vulcans only can reach 25 points on the season.

The automatic berth doesn't mean California Baptist has clinched the league title.

With multiple PacWest teams in transition into Division II and not eligible for the NCAA II post-season yet, schools like Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, Holy Names and Point Loma can still vie for the PacWest Championship.

In women's soccer, Azusa Pacific sits in second place behind CBU with an 8-0-1 (25 points) record and controls its own path. The Cougars would win the PacWest title with victories in each of its last three contests, or two wins and a tie vs. California Baptist.

California Baptist clinches the PacWest Championship with victories over Azusa Pacific and Dixie State to close out the regular season.

(From pacwestsports.org website)