Wednesday, October 17
Riverside, CA
7:00 pm
University of California, Riverside
vs
UC Irvine
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Men's Soccer Hosts UC Irvine Wednesday, Cal State Fullerton Saturday As Big West Race Heats Up
10/15/2012 12:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer
| Oct. 17 | 7:00 pm | vs. UC Irvine | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
| Oct. 20 | 7:00 pm | vs. Cal State Fullerton | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (8-5-0, 1-4-0) heads down the regular season home stretch with five matches left on the docket beginning with Wednesday night's home tilt vs. UC Irvine (4-9-1, 1-4-0). On Saturday, the Highlanders host Cal State Fullerton (4-10-1, 0-4-1). Both matches kickoff at 7 pm PT.
Due to the new divisional format in the Big West this season, UCR is still in the driver's seat with regards to postseason play as the Highlanders are currently tied for second in the South Division, and their final five matches are against divisional competition. At 4-1-0, Cal State Northridge nearly has one of the two South Division postseason berths sewn up, but only two points separate UC Riverside from the Anteaters and Titans in the race for the second spot.
The Highlanders have dropped three straight conference matches including a 2-1 overtime decision at #21 Cal State Northridge on Saturday, October 13 (box score/recap). UCR has struggled on the offensive side of the pitch over its past seven matches scoring six goals during that stretch. Three of those scores came in a 3-2 overtime win over Cal Poly on September 30 (box score/recap).
UC Irvine enters the final three weeks of the regular season in danger of missing the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time ever. The conference put the tournament in place for the 2008 season, and the Anteaters have been the number one overall seed in three of those four years while earning a number three seed in 2009.
UC Riverside and UC Irvine met three times a year ago, with the Anteaters winning two of those three meetings including a 2-0 decision in the Big West Conference semifinals (box score/recap). It was the first-ever appearance in the conference tournament for the Highlanders. UC Irvine owns the overall series record with a mark of 15-5-3.
Cal State Fullerton enters the week having lost three matches in a row, each by a 2-1 score. Their lone point of the conference season came in a scoreless tie vs. UC Santa Barbara on September 30 (box score/recap).
The Titans and Highlanders squared off against one another on two occasions in 2011, with both matches ending in 1-1 ties. UCR is 6-12-4 all-time against Fullerton, with the Highlander's last victory coming on October 20, 2010 (box score/recap).
| Highlanders vs. Anteaters & Titans Match Capsules | |||
| UC Riverside | UC Irvine | Cal State Fullerton | |
| 2012 Record & Stats | 8-5-0, 1-4-0 | 4-9-1, 1-4-0 | 4-10-1, 0-4-1 |
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |
| Conference | Big West | ||
| Current Streak | L 3 | W 1 | L 3 |
|
Most Recent Box Score |
L, 2-1 (OT) at #21 Cal State Northridge |
W, 2-1 vs. Cal State Fullerton |
L, 2-1 at UC Irvine |
| Next Opponent |
Oct. 27 vs. Cal State Northridge |
Oct. 20 vs. Cal State Northridge |
Oct. 27 vs. UC Irvine |
| Top Scorer |
Aaron
Long Junior 4 goals 1 assist 9 points |
 Kiraksoyan Junior 4 goals 4 assists 12 points |
 Escalante Senior 7 goals 1 assist 15 points |
|
Top Keeper |
Ashkan
Khosravi Freshman 13 matches 46 saves 1.16 gaa |
 Breslin Sophomore 13 matches 61 saves 1.56 gaa |
 Hannon Junior 7 matches 25 saves 0.92 gaa |
|
All-Time Record vs. |
5-15-3 (All-Time Results) | 6-12-4 (All-Time Results) | |
| Current Streak | L 1 | T 2 | |
GAME NOTES
UNDEFEATED
UC Riverside won its first seven matches of the 2012 season, and was one of only six teams in the nation with unblemished records heading into the weekend of September 21-23, but a 2-0 loss to CSU Bakersfield ended the Highlanders perfect run.
HEADED TO THE POLLS
| Week Of ... |
Soccer America |
Soccer Times |
NSCAA |
College Soccer News |
Top Drawer Soccer |
| Preseason | |||||
| Aug. 27 | RV | RV | |||
| Sept. 3 | RV | RV | RV | ||
| Sept. 10 | RV | 25 | 30 | ||
| Sept. 17 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 24 | |
| Sept. 24 | RV | 24 | 24 | ||
| Oct. 1 | RV | RV | 26 | ||
| Oct. 7 | |||||
| Oct. 14 |
FIRING BLANKS
The last time the Highlanders recorded consecutive shutouts prior to this season was October 10 and 13, 2007 when they blanked Cal State Fullerton 1-0 and played to a scoreless tie at Cal State Northridge.
UC Riverside has never recorded three straight shutouts.
The Highlanders broke the program's Division I era record for consecutive shutout minutes by holding the opposition scoreless for 290 minutes and eight second spanning four matches and dating back to the end of the 2011 season.
The Highlanders already have five shutouts in 2012 after recording three shutouts in all of 2011. The team record for shutouts in a season is six set in 2006.
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
The Highlanders recorded 25 assists during the 2010 season which is the most in the Division I history of the program. They tied that mark in 2011, and already have 25 assists in 13 matches in 2012.
| Single-Season Team Assists | ||
| 25 | 2010 | |
| 25 | 2010 | |
| 25 | 2012 | |
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
UC Riverside's 28 goals in 2011 tied the program's Division I era record originally set by the 2004 squad. The Highlanders have 25 goals in just 13 matches so far in 2012.
| Single-Season Team Goals | ||
| 28 | 2004 | |
| 28 | 2011 | |
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a 7-1-0 mark in non-conference matches in 2012, the Highlanders set the program record for non-conference wins in a season established a year ago. In 2011, UC Riverside finished the season with a 5-2-1 record against non-Big West opponents which gave the Highlanders just their second winning record during their non-conference season during the team's Division I history (2007, 3-2-2).
A NEW SET OF GOALS
Last season, senior Cesar Diaz-Pizarro scored 32.1 percent (9 of 28) of the team's goals, leaving the Highlanders in need of some replacement scoring for 2012.
UCR has used a balanced attack thus far on the offensive side of the pitch as 12 different players are responsible for the Highlanders 25 goals on the season. Aaron Long and Ruben Valencia each have four goals lead the squad.
POSTSEASON PLAY
The Highlanders advanced to their first-ever Big West Tournament last year, setting Division I era records for wins in the process. They were shut out of the NCAA Tournament, however, despite an RPI of 39.
RPI
The Highlanders rose to as high as 30th in the nation a year ago based on the NCAA's RPI rankings which is the highest the program has ever been ranked.
MEAT IN THE SEATS
Attendance at UC Riverside home matches in 2011 was already up before a crowd of 2,016 saw the team upset #7 UC Santa Barbara on October 28, 2011 by a 3-1 score.
That total more than tripled the previous benchmark of 638 set on November 3, 2010 in a 1-0 win over UC Davis. It also pushed UCR's season attendance past the previous program record of 3,036 set in 2010.
At the next home match, the Highlanders had 852 in attendance—the second highest total in school history—as they squared off against #7 UC Irvine. UCR finished the year averaging a program best 773 fans per contest..
FEELING A LITTLE RANK
The Highlanders 3-1 win over #7 UC Santa Barbara on September 28, 2011 was the program's third win against a ranked opponent in the 10-plus year Division I history of the program. A few weeks later, they picked up their fourth-ever win against top-25 competition as they beat #15 UCSB, 3-2 on the road. And on October 29, they added a third win over a ranked opponent upsetting #9 UC Irvine on the road, 3-2.
UC Riverside's first win against a ranked opponent was a 2-0 decision at #21 San Diego State on September 4, 2007. They followed that up with a 2-1 victory over #7 UC Davis on October 18, 2008.
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
