Saturday, October 27
Riverside, CA
7:00 pm
UC Riverside
vs
Cal State Northridge
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Men's Soccer Celebrates Senior Night With Saturday Match vs. Cal State Northridge
10/23/2012 7:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer
| Oct. 27 | 7:00 pm | vs. Cal State Northridge | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Riverside, CA—The Big West Men's Soccer Tournament gets underway in exactly two weeks, but which teams will line up for kickoff is still anybody's guess. With three regular season conference matches remaining for each of the eight teams, only one of the four playoff spots has been secured.
With the addition of Sacramento State to the conference in men's soccer this year, the Big West split the conference into two divisions. The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs with the first place finisher in each division hosting the number two team in the other division in the first round.
In the North Division, the first and fourth place teams, UC Davis (5-2-0) and UC Santa Barbara (3-3-1) are separated by just five points. In the South Division, Cal State Northridge has clinched at least a second place finish, but the other three teams—Cal State Fullerton (2-4-1), UC Riverside (2-5-0) and UC Irvine (1-6-0)—are separated by just four points. The final postseason representative from the South Division will likely not be known until the final day of the regular season.
The Highlanders have just one match this week: a Saturday October 27 meeting with the front-running Matadors. It is also Senior Night for UC Riverside as the program says goodbye to six seniors. Kickoff is slated for 7 pm PT. UCR finishes the regular season on the road at UC Irvine on Wednesday, October 31 and at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, November 3. Both matches begin at 7 pm.
After starting the season 7-0, UCR has won just two of its last eight matches. The Highlanders last four losses have been by one goal each, and two of them have come in overtime.
The Matadors are ranked as high as 23rd in the nation in various polls, and have won four of their last five matches including a 2-1 overtime victory over the Highlanders on October 13 (box score/recap). Each of CSUN's last six matches has been decided by a single goal.
UC Riverside has just two wins over the Matadors in 21 meetings, but both of those victories came a year ago in a pair of 2-1 decisions.
| Highlanders vs. Matadors Match Capsule | ||
| UC Riverside | Cal State Northridge | |
| 2012 Record & Stats | 9-6-0, 2-5-0 | 11-5-0, 5-2-0 |
| Schedule | Schedule | |
| Roster | Roster | |
| Conference | Big West | |
| Current Streak | L 1 | L 3 |
|
Most Recent Box Score |
L, 3-2 (2 OT) vs. Cal State Fullerton |
W, 2-1 at UC Irvine |
| Next Opponent |
Oct. 31 at UC Irvine |
Oct. 27 vs. UC Irvine |
| Top Scorer |
 Senior 5 goals, 2 assists 12 points |
 Sophomore 12 goals, 0 assists 24 points |
|
Top Keeper |
Ashkan Khosravi
Freshman 15 matches 55 saves, 1.21 gaa |
 Senior 15 matches 42 saves, 1.05 gaa |
|
All-Time Record vs. |
2-13-6 (All-Time Results) | |
| Current Streak | L 1 | |
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 | |||||
| Oct. 21 |
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 broke it this season as they have 33 assists in 15 matches in 2012.
| Single-Season Team Assists | ||
| 33 | 2012 | |
| 25 | 2010 | |
| 25 | 2011 | |
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 broke the record again this season and have 31 goals in 15 matches so far in 2012.
| Single-Season Team Goals | ||
| 31 | 2012 | |
| 28 | 2004 | |
| 28 | 2011 | |
EZ-PASS
Otis Earle and Juan Mendoza have six assists on the season which is the most for a member of the Highlanders since Randy Poggio was credited with seven in the 2005 campaign.
GIMME FIVE
Jimmy Martinez scored two goals and dished out an assist for five points in the Highlanders 4-1 win over UC Irvine on October 17 tying the program's single-match Division I era record for points in a match and goals in a match. Five other Highlanders have recorded five points in a single match, most recently Alex Racca who turned the trick in a September 4, 2010 victory over Alabama A&M.
THREE OF A KIND
Juan Mendoza was credited with three assists in the Highlanders 4-1 victory over UC Irvine on October 17 becoming just the fourth player in the Division I history of the program to accomplish the feat. Arnie Sanchez did it most recently in a September 4, 2010 win over Alabama A&M.
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 31 goals on the season. Aaron Long and Jimmy Martinez each have five goals to 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.
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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
