Wednesday, October 31
Irvine, CA
7:00 pm
UC Riverside
at
UC Irvine
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Men's Soccer Heads Into Final Week Needing Two Wins And Help To Guarantee Conference Berth
10/29/2012 9:03:00 AM | Men's Soccer
| Oct. 31 | 7:00 pm | at UC Irvine | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
| Nov. 3 | 7:00 pm | at Cal State Fullerton | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Irvine, CA—The final postseason berth in the Big West South Division is still up for grabs as the UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team heads into the final week of the regular season. But in order for the Highlanders to guarantee their second straight trip to the conference tournament, they need to win both of their remaining matches and get some assistance from first-place Cal State Northridge.
| Big West South Division | |||||
| Seed | Team | W | L | T | Pts |
| 1 | Cal State Northridge | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | |
| UC Riverside | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |
| UC Irvine | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | |
UCR is in third place in the South with a 2-6-0 record and six points, four points behind second-place Cal State Fullerton with a 3-4-1 record and 10 points.
The Highlanders two remaining matches are against UC Irvine on Wednesday, October 31 at 7 pm PT and at Fullerton on Saturday, November 3 at 7 pm. Wins in both of those matches would give UCR 12 points, two ahead of the Titans current total. But Fullerton travels to Northridge Wednesday evening, and that is the match that matters most.
Even if the Highlanders win both of their remaining contests, they need the Titans to lose to or tie the Matadors on Wednesday. If Cal State Fullerton beats Northridge, the number two seed belongs to the Titans.
There is one scenario in which the Highlanders and Cal State Fullerton finish with identical 3-6-1 records (WARNING: If too much math hurts your head, you should skip the next three paragraphs and just route for the scenario described above), and that comes about if UC Riverside ties UC Irvine and beats the Titans, and Fullerton loses to Northridge. In that instance, per the Big West Conference Tournament manual, the first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition. The teams will have split their meetings under this scenario which takes us to the second tie-breaker—goal differential in head-to-head meetings.
Fullerton won the first meeting between the clubs by a 3-2 score (box score/recap), so the Highlanders would need to win by two goals or more in Saturday's rematch. If they don't, it is on to tiebreaker number three—most goals scored in road matches within the division. UC Riverside has played just one road match in the division so far which resulted in a 2-1 loss at Cal State Northridge. The Titans have four goals in their two South Division road matches, with their Wednesday road match at CSUN still on the docket.
If we are still tied, the team with the greatest goal differential in all games within the division gets the nod, and if we haven't determined a winner by then, we move to the ever-popular coin flip by the commissioner.
| Highlanders at Anteaters and Titans Match Capsules | |||
| UC Riverside | UC Irvine | Cal State Fullerton | |
| 2012 Record & Stats | 9-7-0, 2-6-0 | 4-13-1, 1-7-0 | 7-10-1, 3-4-1 |
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |
| Conference | Big West | ||
| Current Streak | L 2 | L 4 | W 3 |
|
Most Recent Box Score |
L, 2-1 vs. #23 Cal State Northridge |
L, 1-0 at Cal State Fullerton |
W, 1-0 vs. UC Irvine |
| Next Opponent |
End of Regular Season |
November 3 at Cal State Northridge |
End of Regular Season |
| Top Scorer |
 JimmyMartinez Senior 5 goals 2 assists 12 points |
 Sophomore 6 goals 2 assists 14 points |
 Senior 7 goals 2 assists 16 points |
|
Top Keeper |
Ashkan
Khosravi Freshman 16 matches 56 saves 1.26 gaa |
 Sophomore 17 matches 78 saves 1.72 gaa |
 Junior 7 matches 25 saves 0.92 gaa |
|
All-Time Record vs. |
6-15-3 (All-Time Results) | 6-13-4 (All-Time Results) | |
| Current Streak | W 1 | 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 | |||||
| Oct. 28 |
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 25 assists during the 2010 season set the record for 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 16 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 this season and have 32 goals in 16 matches so far in 2012.
| Single-Season Team Goals | ||
| 32 | 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 32 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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