The Cal State San Marcos women's soccer team put together its third-straight 10+ win season in 2012, surviving a rash of season-ending injuries to qualify for its fourth NAIA Tournament in its last five seasons.  The Cougars spent all 13 weeks of the season in the NAIA Top 25, defeated their first NCAA Division II opponent since 2008, and had six players named All-Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference on their way to an 11-6-3 overall record.

After opening the season with a 1-0 loss to The Master's College, CSUSM rallied for three consecutive road victories over the next 10 days. The Cougars earned their first win of the year on Amy Alber's game-winning penalty kick at Holy Names (Aug. 31).

The following day, CSUSM faced Seattle Pacific, which was ranked No. 19 in NCAA Division II heading into the game. Shelby Bush and Brianne Searl each scored for the Cougars, as CSUSM defeated its first NCAA DII team in four years, 2-1.  

CSUSM finished off its road trip with a 3-0 pounding of Fresno Pacific (Sept. 8), thanks to goals from Kelsey Gunion, Dani Porter and Paulina Good. After a feverish 3-3 game with Biola (Sept. 11), the Cougars fell to No. 18 Concordia (Calif.) in overtime, 0-1, on Sept. 13.

Sitting with a pedestrian record of 3-2-1 over its first six games, the women's team would go unbeaten in its next six between Sept. 18-Oct. 12. The Cougars also went 3-0-1 against ranked opponents in that span.

Amanda Sears became the first goalkeeper in program history to record a goal when she poked home the game-tying score off a corner kick to force overtime against No. 7 Westmont on Sept. 18. The Cougars were handed the 3-2 victory when the Warriors scored an own-goal two minutes into the first overtime.

Porter scored the game-winner for CSUSM in its 2-1 win over No. 12 Vanguard on Sept. 22 and the Cougars received their highest rank of the season at No. 10 on Oct. 2.

After a two-week break, the Cougars resumed their hot streak with a 3-0 win over No. 23 Westminster (Utah) and a 0-0 draw in the NAIA Game of the Week against No. 20 Carroll (Mont) on Oct. 6.

Tara Simon scored the first goal of her career in a 1-0 win over Marymount on Oct. 10 and the Cougars wrapped up their six-game unbeaten streak with a 3-0 drubbing of conference-rival Ashford, a game in which Kaleigh Dodson registered two assists.

CSUSM suffered its first loss since Sept. 13 with a 0-2 decision to Point Loma Nazarene (Oct. 17) and followed with a 1-1 tie with UC Santa Cruz on Oct. 19.

The Cougars got back on track with their highest scoring output of the season in their 4-0 win over SOKA University on Oct. 23. Sarah Hopper scored twice while Dodson and Heather Flores scored their first goals of the season. All four goals were scored in a 10-mintue span early in the second half.

After a 2-1 loss to Embry-Riddle in the annual Homecoming Game on Oct. 27, CSUSM received a forfeit win on Oct. 30 when Bethesda could not field an official team.

CSUSM earned the No. 1 seed for Nov. 9-10's A.I.I. Tournament, where the Cougars faced fourth-seeded University of Houston-Victoria in the semifinals. Bush and Jessica Wilds each scored as the Cougars advanced, 2-0.

However, the Cougars would be upended in the A.I.I. final, where Ashford escaped with a 1-0 victory to earn the conference's automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament.

Despite not winning the A.I.I. title, the Cougars were selected as the final team to make the 32-team NAIA Tournament field due to their strong Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI). As At-Large No. 6, CSUSM traveled to Portland to face eighth-seeded Concordia (Calif.).

The Cougars worked the fifth-ranked Cavaliers to the second overtime, but Concordia eliminated CSUSM in double-overtime, 1-0.

Head coach Ron Pulvers' squad was honored with a number of postseason awards for its success, both on the field and in the classroom. The team earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for holding a 3.06 cumulative team GPA for the 2011-12 school year, and five players - Natalya Erbel, Vanessa Novella, Mary Green, Amy Young and Wilds – were named 2012 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Bush, Dodson, Sears, Porter and Nicole Luna were named All-A.I.I. Conference First Team selections, while Erin Mulrooney was selected to the Second Team.

Bush was named a NAIA All-American on Dec. 3 when she was placed on the honorable mention squad. She became the third CSUSM player to be named All-America and is just the second player with honors in multiple seasons. The senior will leave CSUSM in second place in the school's all-time record book for goals (23), points (55) and game-winning goals (8).