Joy Hano/Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics – Megan Janikowski celebrates her goal on Thursday.

The Cal Poly Humboldt women’s soccer team is headed to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years after a 1-0 win over Chico State at College Creek Field on Thursday.

Megan Janikowski scored the only goal of the game in the 65th minute, netting on a Kylea Becker corner kick.

With the win, the Jacks closed out the California Collegiate Athletic Association in fifth place with a record of 4-2-5 and will now advance to the conference tournament, which kicks off on Sunday.

The No. 5 seeded Jacks will have a rematch with No. 4 Chico State in Chico in the opening round, with the winner advancing to play No. 1 Sonoma State next Friday.

Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m.

“I’m so proud of the players for their effort today and for the entire season,” head coach Grant Landy said. “Today was a culmination of a lot of hard work, perseverance, and belief. We set out with a goal in mind at the beginning of conference to make the tournament, so this is a big achievement for us.”

It has been a big turnaround for the team from last year.

“To finish last in conference in 2021 to fifth this year shows a ton of progress and our commitment to a team mentality,” Landy added. “I’m so happy for our players.”

The win also was the 400th of Landy’s career.

“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some amazing young women in my career,” he said. “To reach the 400 win milestone with this group means a lot to me because of all the work they have put in both on the field and for each other.”

Former Eureka standout Klayre Barres played all 90 minutes for the Wildcats, who finished 5-3-3 in the CCAA and one spot ahead of Humboldt.

Barres is a sophomore defender with the team and has started all 17 games this season.

The last time the Jacks qualified for the postseason was in 2006.