Friday, October 19
Riverside, CA
7:00 PM
UC Riverside
vs
Cal Poly
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Final Two Home Matches For Women's Soccer This Friday & Sunday
10/15/2012 6:47:00 AM | Women's Soccer
| Oct. 19 | 7:00 pm | vs. Cal Poly | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
| Oct. 21 | 1:00 pm | vs. UC Santa Barbara | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team returns home this weekend for its final two home matches of the 2012 regular season. On Friday, October 19, the Highlanders host Cal Poly (8-5-3, 5-0-2) at 7 pm, and on Sunday, October 21 they celebrate Senior Day as they take on UC Santa Barbara (4-10-2, 1-4-1) at 1 pm.
UCR finished non-conference play this year with a 5-4-2 mark, but have dropped five straight matches since the beginning of Big West competition. The Highlanders have scored just three goals in their five conference matches, and have scored just five goals over their last eight matches overall.
Cal Poly was picked to finish sixth this season by conference coaches, but the Mustangs enter the weekend perched atop the Big West standings. Their lone conference blemish came in a 2-2 tie with Cal State Northridge (box score/recap). The Mustangs have won their other five conference matches by a combined score of 16-7.
The Highlanders are 2-6-3 all-time against Cal Poly but won last year's meeting between the clubs, 2-1, in overtime (box score/recap). Celina Valencia got UCR on the board first a year ago, and Andrea Morales scored the game-winner in the 95th minute of play.
Like the Highlanders, UC Santa Barbara has struggled to score goals since the beginning of conference competition denting the back of the net seven times in five matches. Three of those scores came in a 3-3 tie vs. Pacific on September 30 (box score/recap). UCSB takes on Cal State Fullerton on the road Friday night before making its way to the Inland Empire for Sunday's match.
UC Riverside is 2-10-0 against the Gauchos including six straight defeats. UCSB won last year's meeting between the clubs by a 2-0 score (box score/recap).
| Highlanders vs. Mustangs & Gauchos Match Capsule | |||
|
UC Riverside |
Cal Poly | UC Santa Barbara | |
| 2012 Stats & Record | 5-9-2, 0-5-0 | 8-5-2, 5-0-1 | 4-10-2, 1-4-1 |
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |
| Conference | Big West | ||
| Current Streak | L 5 | W 1 | L 1 |
|
Last Box Score |
L, 1-0 at Cal State Fullerton |
W, 5-2 vs. Hawai'i |
L, 1-0 vs. Cal State Northridge |
| Next Opponent | Oct. 26, at Pacific | Oct. 21. at Cal State Fullerton | Oct. 28. at Cal Poly |
| Top Scorer |
 Crystal LopezFreshman 4 goals 1 assist 9 points |
 10 goals 0 assists 20 points |
 4 goals 1 assist 9 points |
|
Top Keeper |
Jessica White
Senior 14 matches 1.57 gaa 71 saves |
 15 matches 1.74 gaa 98 saves |
 Junior 16 matches 1.53 gaa 76 saves |
|
Record vs. |
2-6-3 (All-Time Results) | 2-10-0 (All-Time Results) | |
| Current Streak vs. | W 1 | L 6 | |
GAME NOTES
WELCOME BACK
UC Riverside's new head women's soccer coach has a familiar look about him: Nat Gonzalez, who took over the team this winter, was the Highlanders head men's soccer coach from 2001-03, restarting a program that lay dormant for a number of years prior to UC Riverside making the transition to Division I.
DON'T LOOK ETHEL!
The Highlanders had a four-match unbeaten streak snapped on Sunday, September 16 in a 1-0 loss to San Francisco. The last time UC Riverside posted a longer unbeaten streak was in 2009 when they stayed out of the loss column for seven straight matches from August 30 through September 20.
ROOKIE RECKONING
In the Highlanders' 2-1, season-opening win over CSU Bakersfield (box score/recap) Crystal Lopez became the first UC Riverside rookie since Ciara Hilpert in 2008, to score a goal in the first match of her career. Hilpert did it in the Highlanders 5-0 win over Southern Utah on August 22 of that year (box score/recap).
Lopez is also leading UCR in scoring this season with four goals and an assist for nine points. If she remains atop the Highlanders leader board, she will become the fourth freshman to lead the team in scoring in the program's history: Melisa Escamilla, 2010, 2 goals, 0 assists, 4 points; Renee Scachetti, 2003, 7 goals, 4 assists, 18 points; and Jessica Armel, 2002, 4 goals, 1 assist, 9 points.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside's Celina Valencia, was named Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week on September 3, for games played from August 27 through September 2.
The Alhambra, CA native scored half of the Highlanders four goals over the weekend at the UC Riverside Women’s Soccer Tournament netting the team’s lone score against New Mexico State in a 1-1 tie on Friday (watch highlights), and one of three goals in the Highlanders come-from-behind 3-2 victory over UTEP on Sunday (watch highlights). Valencia also assisted on Andrea Morales’s game-tying goal with 12:35 remaining in regulation.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Two years ago, the Highlanders suffered through a one-win season that produced just three goals all year long. In 2011, however, UC Riverside picked up eight wins on the season, remaining in the hunt for a Big West Conference postseason berth until the final match of the season, while scoring 21 goals. This year, the Highlanders are 5-9-2 on the season with 18 scores in 16 matches.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Ten members of the Highlanders dented the back of the net last year which is the most goal scorers the team has posted in a season since 2007 when 12 players etched their names into the scoring column. So far in 2012, nine players are responsible for UC Riverside's 18 goals.
WRONG WAY STREAK
The Highlanders have dropped five straight matches heading into this weekend's play. The last time UCR lost more than five matches in a row was in 2010 when they endured a seven match losing streak.
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