ROHNERT PARK -- Alex Cucuk, Eric Alvarado and Raad Aljabi all found the back of the net Wednesday and the defense allowed just two shots in 90 minutes as the Sonoma State men's soccer team cruised to a 3-0 victory over visiting Humboldt State at the Seawolf Soccer Field. 

The win put the Seawolves (7-2-5 overall) in sole possession of first place of the CCAA with 20 points (6-1-2 in conference play), currently one point ahead of second place UC San Diego with three regular season matches to play. The Lumberjacks fall to 4-8-1 (2-7 CCAA).

The first official NCAA Division II West Region rankings were also released on Wednesday, and the Seawolves are at No. 6 this week.  Should the Seawolves remain in the Top 6 when the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship Tournament field is released on Nov. 7, they will qualify for an NCAA berth for the first time since 2010.  Other CCAA schools listed in this week's rankings are UC San Diego (No. 2), Cal Poly Pomona (No. 3), Cal State San Bernardino (No. 4) and Cal State L.A. (No. 7).

The official NCAA Division II Regional Rankings can be found here.

Sonoma State dominated the first half as it led the 45 minutes with 17 shots against Humboldt, which had only one shot. In the 35th minute, Cucuk scored his first goal of the season when Armando Coronel passed up to Cucuk, who then fired a quick shot that bounced off a defender and right back to him before regaining possession and firing it into the net at 35:43.  Following a foul in the 42nd minute on a handball in the box, Alvarado converted the ensuing penalty kick to give Sonoma a 2-0 halftime lead.

In the 54th minute, Aljabi intercepted an HSU pass deep in their own territory and turned it into a 3-0 Seawolf lead; it was his second goal of the season.

All told, the Seawolves outshot the Lumberjacks 23-2. Sonoma had eight shots on goal while Humboldt had none. Chris Cherms of Humboldt State had five saves on the day. The Seawolves were led by a trio of players who each had four shots each on the day.

The Seawolves have three games left in the regular season. They travel to Chico State on Friday for their final regular season road game. Kickoff is set for 4:30 pm. The Seawolves then return home for their final two regular season home games, beginning with an Oct. 27 meeting with Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Postgame quotes from SSU Head Coach Marcus Ziemer:

"I thought we started well, but just didn't get the early goal that we were looking for. We kept pressing and then Cucuk scored a nice goal and Alvarado buried the penalty kick to give us a cushion going into half."

"At halftime we talked about going after the third goal without taking too much risk.  Aljabi scored a nice goal and then we were able to control the ball and see out the game."

"Humboldt State is well coached and we knew that they weren't going to go down without a fight. That's why the third goal was so important to put the game out of reach.  We were able to play everybody and rest some players for the big game at Chico State on Friday."

"Our defense has been outstanding.  We have had some games that we have won, but given up a late goal because a lack of focus and we end up having to expend more energy than necessary, which tires you out for the game two days later. Fortunately, we finished out this game and kept the shutout."

"We have a balanced scoring attack this year.  Our opponent can't key in on one or two players because we are creating a lot of 'team goals' where the ball movement or individual action creates the chance."

"We will enjoy this win and then head up to Chico tomorrow to get ready for them on Friday.  Chico is a good team and have been on a good roll so we need to make sure that we are ready.  I know that my boys will be up for it!"