Long Beach State, a Big West regular season co-champion in each of the last two seasons, is in a familiar place - first place.  With two weeks remaining prior to the conference tournament, the 49ers own a three point lead on second place UC Santa Barbara and Pacific.  The top four teams in the women's soccer standings advance to tournament play on November 6 and 9.
   
The 49ers (10-4-3, 4-0-1) clinched their fourth consecutive double-digit win season last weekend after toppling UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton.  Long Beach State is 49-21-7 in the last three-plus seasons with head coach Mauricio Ingrassia at the helm.
   
Only one match appears on the 49er schedule this week.  LBSU meets Cal State Northridge in its regular season home finale on Sunday.  The 49ers have won two straight meetings against the Matadors.  CSUN, which also travels to UC Irvine on Thursday, claimed the 100th Division I win in program history last Friday against UC Davis.  The Matadors would vault themselves into contention for a Big West Tournament berth with a pair of desired results this week.   
   
UC Santa Barbara looks to keep pace with the league-leading 49ers, traveling up north to play UC Davis.  A win against the Aggies sets up a Halloween night showdown against Long Beach State with first place likely on the line.  The Gauchos and 49ers were picked to finish first and second by the league’s coaches in the preseason poll.  UCSB notched its first double-digit win campaign since 2004 after knocking off Central Coast rival Cal Poly on Sunday.
   
The loss dropped Cal Poly from first to fourth place in the standings with nine points.  The Mustangs look to rebound with a pair of key road contests this week, visiting Pacific and UC Davis.  They are 5-1-0 on the road this year, including a 2-0 mark in conference action.
   
Cal Poly has dominated the all-time series against both the Tigers and Aggies.  The Mustangs are 12-2-1 versus Pacific, and have not suffered defeat to the Tigers since 2001.  CP is 5-0-1 against UC Davis.
   
The Aggies return home for their final two home matches.  UCD is 1-1-3 on the home pitch this season.
   
On the cusp of a Big West Tournament berth is UC Irvine.  The Anteaters are in fifth place with seven points and need to beat Cal State Northridge prior to a tough roadtrip to end the regular season against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.  It won't be an easy task for the Anteaters, which have beaten the Matadors just once since 2000.  CSUN is 6-1-1 versus UCI in the last eight meetings.
   
Cal State Fullerton is in danger of missing the Big West Tournament after winning the championship in each of the last three years.  The Titans are tied for sixth place with six points and have only two games remaining.  Both games are must wins, starting at home against UC Riverside on Sunday.  The Highlanders are searching for their first conference victory.
   
The 2008 Big West Tournament semifinals will be played on the home fields of the top two teams in the final regular season standings.  The highest remaining seed from the two semifinal winners will host the championship match on Sunday, November 9.