The Warriors have reloaded after a tremendous 2009 season, when the team set numerous records, including tying the school's best mark with 11 victories. Second-year head coach Dana Taylor will have experienced players returning and have added great depth with a talented recruiting class.

“We have nine returners coming back with an incredible amount of experience that we took from last year's campaign,” Taylor said. “Our recruits have added depth in all areas of our team.  Our goal is to take it one day at a time, learn each day as we strap on our boots and improve as individuals and collectively as a team.”

In his first season, Taylor elevated the program to an 11-win season, matching the school record set in 1991, before Cal State Stanislaus joined the CCAA.  Prior to Taylor's arrival, the Warriors had only one winning season since 1998.

The rest of the conference has taken notice as the head coaches projected a second place divisional finish for Stanislaus in 2010. The preseason poll also put the Warriors in the conference tournament and one head coach voted for the Warriors to win the conference tournament championship.

“Our goal, like anyone else, to be in the postseason at the end of the season,” said Taylor. “However, our focus is to remain in the present.  We have no control over outcomes. We must understand our roles and how this affects our team.”

The postseason could start at home for the Warriors as Cal State Stanislaus was selected to host the CCAA conference tournament (Nov. 5-7 at Warrior Stadium) for the second straight year.

Before the Warriors can get that far, they will have to endure another tough schedule, starting with a non-conference contest versus regional foe Western Washington to open the home schedule on Sept. 4.

As part of the grueling CCAA schedule, the Warriors will face four preseason Top 25 teams in Cal State Dominguez Hills (#6), Cal State L.A. (#12), Sonoma State (#22) and Cal State San Bernardino (#25). An advantage for the Warriors is that they will face four of the five Southern California teams, including three ranked programs, at Warrior Stadium. Stanislaus posted an impressive 8-1-1 record at home last season.

Forwards
The Cal State Stanislaus scoring attack will begin with returning NSCAA All-American and All-Region player Victor Regalado. Regalado netted school-record 13 goals and scored 28 points in just 16 games in 2009 en route to being named as CCAA's most valuable offensive player of the year.

“I'm not trying to meet the same goals as I did last year,” Regalado had told a local sports writer after the first day of practice. “I'm just trying to take it a game at a time. We're trying to do the same thing here. It's not about an individual.”

Regalado will have a lot of help up-front with the emergence of returning players like junior Jose Velasquez and the speedy senior Terry Gross. Newcomer Manny Avila (part of a conference championship team at West Valley), Daniel Anderson (high school All-American out of Sandpoint, Idaho), JC transfer Juan Alvarez and Brady Marshall (who was a football walk-on at BYU) all figured to be in the mix in the scoring.

“Our team has a lot more depth (this year) in all key positions,” said Taylor, who turned the program around with his arrival in the late spring of 2009.

Midfielders
The upgraded midfielders are expecting to control the tempo of the Stanislaus game and this group will be led by returning All-CCAA second team pick Edgar Santana. Santana is an attacking-mid who scored four goals with three assists in 2009.

Joining Santana are returning letter winners Luis Guzman (he started in all 19 matches in 2009), Arturo Pulido and John Powell. Also vying to contribute to the team's success is one of the top recruits in Andres Zamora, a Hartnell College transfer. Mixed in with this group to add depth are redshirt freshman K.J. Newbery, rookies Edwardo Lopez, Austin Schwalbach and former Warrior Sergio Sousa (he played here in 2008 before attending Modesto Junior College).

Defenders
Defense will continue to be a strong part of the Stanislaus game, but the 2010 unit will look quite different than last.

The backfield could include returnees Edwardo Meza, Trevor Grimbleby, Hector Angeles and a healthy Keith Ramirez. Sophomores, Schad TenBroeck and Nolan Holdridge figure to play major roles in the unit as well.

A number of talented recruits will challenge for time on the pitch with former Oregon State Beaver TJ Grewal and freshman Kyle Cadigan high on the depth chart. Ryan Selgrath, another freshman, is also among the defensive group.

Goalkeepers
All-CCAA honorable mention Javier Rosales returns for his junior season after posting four shutouts, 59 saves and a 1.00 GAA. He also posted a single-season best .819 saves percentage a year ago. Golden West College transfer Bill Hambelton (who is 6-foot-6, 220 pounds) figures to also man the net, along with redshirt freshman Iber Monroy.