Friday, September 28
Riverside, CA
5:00 PM
UC Riverside
vs
Long Beach State
Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta
Women's Soccer Begins Conference Play vs. Long Beach State and UC Irvine
9/24/2012 10:03:00 AM | Women's Soccer
| Sept. 28 | 5:00 pm | vs. Long Beach State | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
| Sept. 30 | 6:00 pm | vs. UC Irvine | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team begins Big West Conference play this weekend as they host #22 Long Beach State on Friday, September 28 at 5 pm PT and UC Irvine on Sunday, September 30 at 6 pm.
The Highlanders finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-4-2 mark which is the best record the team has posted through 11 matches since the 2009 campaign.
Big West coaches picked the Beach to win the league championship in the 2012 preseason coaches poll releases on July 31 of this year. Long Beach State has the best record in the conference thus far at 7-3-0 which includes victories over San Diego, Michigan, Baylor and Arizona.
The Beach owns a 6-2-4 record against the Highlanders, with UCR's last win coming in a 3-0 decision on October 29, 2006 (box score). Long Beach State won last year's meeting, 1-0, on October 21 (box score/recap).
UC Irvine was picked to finish second in the conference, but they have struggled through their non-conference schedule with a 4-7-0 mark. Four of those losses are shutouts against Loyola Marymount (1-0), Oregon (1-0), Denver (4-0) and Pepperdine (4-0).
The 'Eaters enter this weekend's play with losses in three of their last four matches. UC Irvine plays at Cal State Fullerton on Friday before making its way to the Inland Empire for Sunday's match.
The Anteaters are 8-2-1 all-time vs. UC Riverside picking up wins in each of the last five meetings between the clubs including a 5-0 decision in the final match of the 2011 regular season (box score/recap).
| UC Riverside vs. 49ers and Anteaters Match Capsules | |||
|
UC Riverside |
LBSU | UC Irvine | |
| 2012 Stats | 5-4-2 | 7-3-0 | 4-7-0 |
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |
| Conf. | Big West | ||
| Current Streak |
W 1 |
W 2 | L 1 |
|
Last Box Score |
W, 2-1 vs. Lamar |
W, 1-0 vs. San Diego |
L, 3-2 at San Diego State |
| Next Opp. |
Oct. 5 at Hawai'i |
Sept. 30 at Cal St. Fullerton |
Oct. 5 vs. Cal Poly |
| Top Scorer |
 Valencia Sophomore 3 gls, 2 asts 8 pts |
 Maes Junior 4 gls, 3 asts 11 pts  Link Senior 4 gls, 3 asts 11 pts |
 Ledezma Junior 1 gl, 4 asts 6 pts |
|
Top Keeper |
 White Senior 11 matches 1.29 gaa 54 svs |
 Meyers Sophomore 10 matches 1.16 gaa 51 svs |
 Randazzo Sophomore 9 matches 1.75 gaa 23 svs |
|
Record vs. |
2-6-4 (Results) |
2-8-1 (Results) |
|
|
Current Streak vs. |
L 2 | L 5 | |
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.
.500 AND ABOVE
The last time UC Riverside had a better record through 11 matches than they do in 2012 was in 2009 when they boasted a 5-3-3 mark. They finished the 2009 campaign with a 6-9-4 record. The last time the Highlanders finished a season above .500 was in 2006 when they went 10-7-1.
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).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UC Riverside's leading scorer, 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 5-4-2 on the season with 15 scores in 11 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, eight players are responsible for UC Riverside's 15 goals.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DENTER
The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team hasn't had a double-digit goal scorer since Tessa Lennala dented the back of the net on 11 occasions back in 2008. Celina Valencia and Crystal Lopez each have three goals so far on the season in 11 matches for the Highlanders.
Highlander Hot Talk Podcast - Spring Sports Recap 5/21/2026
Thursday, May 21
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
