Elliot Portillo/Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

The Cal Poly Humboldt women are enjoying a big fall on the soccer fields and have moved into a tie for top spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

On Friday afternoon, the Jacks opened a two-game weekend road trip with a 2-0 at Cal State East Bay to leapfrog the Pioneers in the standings.

The win stretches the team’s unbeaten run to four straight, three of which the Jacks have won.

They are now 2-0-1 in conference and 4-3-3 overall.

Karsyn Ross and Heidi Munoz each scored in the win, while the team defense again played a pivotal role and secured a fourth straight shutout.

Ross opened the scoring in the 11th minute, netting her second goal of the season to give Humboldt an early edge. 

Just 13 minutes later, Munoz added to the lead with her first goal of the year, finishing off a dangerous attacking sequence to make it 2-0.

The CPH defense held firm throughout, with goalkeepers Carson Thomson-Terrel and Ari Beddoes combining for five saves to preserve the clean sheet. 

Humboldt features one of the conference’s most formidable backlines and has now gone over 360 minutes without conceding a goal.

Defenders Kyle Okamoto and Karlie Yamada and Payton Heaney each played the full 90 minutes, anchoring a back line that limited the Pioneers to just five shots on target.

This year’s team features one local player, former Arcata High and College of the Redwoods standout Alia Prentiss.

The junior has seen substantial playing time in all 10 games for the team, including making three starts, and she has two goals, including one in a 4-0 win over San Francisco State two weeks ago.

The Jacks now have seven points to lead the conference standings along with Cal State San Bernardino, which tied Stanislaus State 2-2 on Friday.

The conference leaders sit one point ahead of Cal Poly Pomona, which lost 1-0 to Chico State on Friday, and East Bay.

The Jacks will try to keep their unbeaten run going when they play at San Francisco State on Sunday morning.