Friday, October 30
UCR Soccer Stadium
7:00 pm
UC Riverside
vs
Pacific
Women's Soccer Prepares For Final Two Matches Of 2009 Season
10/26/2009 10:55:13 AM | Women's Soccer
The final weekend of the 2009 women's soccer season begins Friday as the Highlanders (5-8-4, 0-5-1) host Pacific (9-5-3, 3-2-1), at 7 pm PT. UCR is coming off of a 1-1 tie at Long Beach State on Sunday that credited them with their first points of the conference season. Denise Thomas (pictured) increased her team high point total to eight with an assist in the tie against the 49ers.
The Tigers and UC Irvine are officially tied for fourth in the Big West with 10 points apiece, but the Anteaters have played one more match than Pacific giving the Tigers the inside track to the fourth and final postseason spot.
The top three teams in the conference—Cal Poly (6-1-0), UC Santa Barbara (5-1-1) and Cal State Northridge (5-2-0)—are still battling for postseason positioning with one match to play.
GAME NOTES
WHITE OUT
Highlanders goalkeeper Jessica White currently boasts a goals against average of 0.78 (53rd lowest in the nation) and a save percentage of .877 (16th best in the country).
She picked up the first shutout of her collegiate career in a 1-0 overtime win over Texas State on August 30 and notched her second straight blanking on September 4 in a 1-0 win over Southern Utah.
On September 6, she made it three consecutive 1-0 shutouts with 90 perfect minutes at Fresno State, and on September 11, she recorded her fourth straight scoreless effort in a 0-0 tie vs. San Francisco.
Her string of consecutive scoreless minutes (454:55) came to an end late in an eventual 1-1 tie with San Diego State, but she earned her fourth full shutout on September 18 against Bowling Green, her fifth on September 20 against Utah Valley, and her sixth on September 25 in a scoreless tie with Boise State.
White is currently fourth on the Highlanders single-season shutouts list.
GONE STREAKING
The Highlanders had an eight-match unbeaten streak earlier this season which is the third longest single-season streak in the history of the program.
SEARCHING FOR A NEW SET OF GOALS
The Highlanders scored 32 goals a year ago, but the feet responsible for just 16 of them return for the 2009 season. The biggest loss is all-conference performer Tessa Lennala who paced UCR and the Big West in 2008 with 11 goals and 27 points.
Eight members of the Highlanders have goals on the season, led by Denise Thomas's three scores, and five different players have game-winning goals to their credit.
FIRING BLANKS
The Highlanders have shutout seven opponents so far in 2009, three off of the program record for shutouts in a single season.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Ashley Parks, Kayde Hensley and Kristina Noriega were named to the UC Irvine Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sunday, September 6 following back-to-back 1-0 shutouts over Southern Utah and Fresno State.
Parks, a senior midfielder from Etiwanda, CA, scored the game-winning goal against the Thunderbirds, while Hensley, a sophomore defender from Fallbrook, CA, and Noriega, a freshman defender from Westminster, CA, helped anchor the UCR defense which ran its consecutive shutout streak to three with the wins.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM II
Parks and Noriega went two-for-two in the All-Tournament department when they were so honored following the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic in Laramie, WY. The Highlanders allowed just one goal in their two matches at the tournament.
SIDELINE ASSISTANCE
Former San Diego goalkeeper Tommy Tate became a member of the Highlanders coaching staff this summer joining Head Coach Veronica O'Brien and Assistant Coach Kerri Patterson. The UCR coaching family will grow again at the end of the season as Patterson and her husband, Michael, are expecting their first child in December.
The Tigers and UC Irvine are officially tied for fourth in the Big West with 10 points apiece, but the Anteaters have played one more match than Pacific giving the Tigers the inside track to the fourth and final postseason spot.
The top three teams in the conference—Cal Poly (6-1-0), UC Santa Barbara (5-1-1) and Cal State Northridge (5-2-0)—are still battling for postseason positioning with one match to play.
| Highlanders vs. Tigers Match Capsule | ||
| UC Riverside | Pacific |
|
| 2008 Record & Stats |
8-10-2, 2-5-1 | 10-8-1, 4-3-1 |
| 2009 Record & Stats |
5-8-4, 0-5-1 |
9-5-3, 3-2-1 |
| 2009 Schedule | 2009 Schedule | |
| 2009 Roster | 2009 Roster |
|
| Conference | Big West |
|
| Current Streak | T 1 |
T 1 |
| Most Recent Box Score |
T, 1-1 (2 OT) at Long Beach State |
T, 0-0 (2 OT) vs. UC Santa Barbara |
| Next Opponent | 11/1 vs. UC Davis |
11/1 at Cal State Fullerton |
| Leading Scorers |  Senior 3 gls, 2 asts, 8 pts |
 Freshman 8 gls, 2 asts, 18 pts &  Sophomore 5 gls, 8 asts, 18 pts |
| Leading Keeper |
 Sophomore 17 mp, 0.78 gaa, 100 svs |
 Junior 17 mp, 0.81 gaa, 54 svs |
| All-Time Record Against | 1-4-3 |
|
| Current Streak Against | L 1 |
|
| Highlanders vs. Tigers All-Time Results | ||
| October 5, 2001 at Riverside, CA |
L, 2-1 (2 OT) | |
| October 4, 2002 at Stockton, CA |
T, 1-1 (2 OT) | |
| October 20, 2003 at Riverside, CA |
L, 3-0 | |
| October 17, 2004 at Stockton, CA |
T, 1-1 (2 OT) | |
| October 7, 2005 at Riverside, CA |
W, 2-1 | |
| October 8, 2006 at Stockton, CA |
L, 2-1 (2 OT) | |
| October 12, 2007 at Riverside, CA |
T, 1-1 (2 OT) | |
| October 12, 2008 at Stockton, CA |
L, 4-1 | |
GAME NOTES
WHITE OUT
Highlanders goalkeeper Jessica White currently boasts a goals against average of 0.78 (53rd lowest in the nation) and a save percentage of .877 (16th best in the country).
She picked up the first shutout of her collegiate career in a 1-0 overtime win over Texas State on August 30 and notched her second straight blanking on September 4 in a 1-0 win over Southern Utah.
On September 6, she made it three consecutive 1-0 shutouts with 90 perfect minutes at Fresno State, and on September 11, she recorded her fourth straight scoreless effort in a 0-0 tie vs. San Francisco.
Her string of consecutive scoreless minutes (454:55) came to an end late in an eventual 1-1 tie with San Diego State, but she earned her fourth full shutout on September 18 against Bowling Green, her fifth on September 20 against Utah Valley, and her sixth on September 25 in a scoreless tie with Boise State.
White is currently fourth on the Highlanders single-season shutouts list.
| SHO | Player | Year |
| 8 | Tawny Poggio | 2005 |
| 8 | Tawny Poggio | 2003 |
| 7 | Tawny Poggio | 2006 |
| 6 | Jessica White | 2009 |
GONE STREAKING
The Highlanders had an eight-match unbeaten streak earlier this season which is the third longest single-season streak in the history of the program.
| Strk | Year | W-L-T |
| 12 | 2004 | 10-0-2 |
| 11 | 2005 | 7-0-4 |
| 8 |
2009 | 5-0-3 |
SEARCHING FOR A NEW SET OF GOALS
The Highlanders scored 32 goals a year ago, but the feet responsible for just 16 of them return for the 2009 season. The biggest loss is all-conference performer Tessa Lennala who paced UCR and the Big West in 2008 with 11 goals and 27 points.
Eight members of the Highlanders have goals on the season, led by Denise Thomas's three scores, and five different players have game-winning goals to their credit.
FIRING BLANKS
The Highlanders have shutout seven opponents so far in 2009, three off of the program record for shutouts in a single season.
| SHO | Year |
| 10 | 2005 |
| 10 | 2003 |
| 9 | 2004 |
| 8 | 2002 |
| 7 | 2006 |
| 7 | 2009 |
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Ashley Parks, Kayde Hensley and Kristina Noriega were named to the UC Irvine Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sunday, September 6 following back-to-back 1-0 shutouts over Southern Utah and Fresno State.
Parks, a senior midfielder from Etiwanda, CA, scored the game-winning goal against the Thunderbirds, while Hensley, a sophomore defender from Fallbrook, CA, and Noriega, a freshman defender from Westminster, CA, helped anchor the UCR defense which ran its consecutive shutout streak to three with the wins.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM II
Parks and Noriega went two-for-two in the All-Tournament department when they were so honored following the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic in Laramie, WY. The Highlanders allowed just one goal in their two matches at the tournament.
SIDELINE ASSISTANCE
Former San Diego goalkeeper Tommy Tate became a member of the Highlanders coaching staff this summer joining Head Coach Veronica O'Brien and Assistant Coach Kerri Patterson. The UCR coaching family will grow again at the end of the season as Patterson and her husband, Michael, are expecting their first child in December.
Day in the Life: Leilani Juan
Monday, May 04
UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
Tuesday, March 24
