SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons will have the chance to showcase some of the best soccer talent in the California community college system in December as COC has earned a bid to host the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men’s and Women’s Soccer State Championships in 2008 and 2010. The state title game is the first ever championship that COC will play host to on its campus.
“I am excited to have our first ever state championship competition here at College of the Canyons,” athletic director Chuck Lyon said. “We have great facilities on this campus and we will be able to showcase them to a very large audience. I, along with the COC staff, am ready to make this a great event for not only the college, but the CCCAA.”
The championships, which will be a four-day event starting on Dec. 4, and includes a sophomore showcase and semifinal and finals action, will be held at Cougar Stadium on FieldTurf synthetic grass.
This will also be the first time that the state title matches will be played on synthetic grass instead of natural grass. The 7,500-seat capacity stadium replaced the natural grass surface in May of 2003 with FieldTurf synthetic grass, which is used by professional sports teams and universities all over the world.
The state championship will feature four teams from each gender and will stimulate the tourism economy in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“With eight teams traveling to Santa Clarita, there will be a need for hotel rooms and restaurants, which will bring tourism money to the city,” Lyon commented. “And what a great way to showcase soccer talent. Santa Clarita already has a huge soccer community, this will offer another opportunity for the surrounding area to see great athletes at our stadium at an affordable price.”
The soccer playoffs begin with three regional rounds in northern and southern California before the field of 56 teams from across the state are dwindled down to the top-two men’s and women’s soccer squads from their respective regions.
Following the semifinals round that will bring each gender down to two teams, the remaining teams will play on Sunday, Dec. 7 for the title. Following a two-year stay at Fresno Pacific University in conjunction with the CCCAA Championship Festival, the last game of the season will rotate to a northern or southern school every other year, with a two-year commitment. The title game will return to Cougar Stadium in 2010 after its first visit this December.
Men’s and women’s soccer head coach Phil Marcellin played a large part in bringing the matches to COC as the acting president of the California Community College Soccer Coaches Association. |