Men's Soccer Hosts Nationally-Ranked Cal State Northridge Saturday At 7 pm PT
10/16/2013 12:41:00 PM | Men's Soccer
| Oct. 19 | 7:00 pm | vs. CSUN | Live Stats | Call (951) 827 4653 For Tickets |
Riverside, CA—The race for the Big West Conference postseason it taking shape, and the UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (6-5-1, 1-3-0) has a chance to make some headway this weekend as they host nationally-ranked Cal State Northridge on Saturday at 7 pm PT.
The Highlanders have six matches left in the remainder of their regular season, all of which are against teams from the South Division of the Big West. The top three teams in the division advance to the postseason, and the Highlanders are currently in fourth place, a game back of UC Irvine.
UCR's offense has struggled to get on track recently scoring just two goals in its last six matches. The Highlanders split their two matches over the weekend defeating Sacramento State 1-0 (Box Score/Recap) and dropping a 2-0 decision to UC Davis (Box Score/Recap).
The Matadors began the season winning their first eight matches before falling to another nationall-ranked opponent in UCLA. They are now 11-2-0 overall and 3-1-0 in conference following a weekend that saw them drop a 2-1 overtime match to UC Santa Barbara before bounding back to beat Cal Poly, 3-1.
The Matadors and Highlanders' history of competition dates back to October of 2001 with Northridge owning a 14-2-6 advantage in the team's 22 meetings. UC Riverside won back-to-back matches against CSUN in 2010 and 2011, but the Matadors took a pair from the Highlanders a year ago by identical 2-1 scores.
| Highlanders vs. Matadors Match Capsules | ||||||
| UC Riverside | Cal State Northridge | |||||
| 2013 Record & Stats | 6-5-2, 1-3-0 | 11-2-0, 3-1-0 | ||||
| Schedule | Schedule | |||||
| Roster | Roster | |||||
| Conference | Big West | Big West | ||||
| Current Streak | L 1 | W 1 | ||||
| Most Recent Box Score | L, 2-0 vs. UC Davis | W, 2-1 vs. Cal Poly | ||||
| Next Opponent | October 23 at UC Irvine | October 23 vs. Cal State Fullerton | ||||
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Top Scorer 2013 Stats x x x x |
 Â Â |
Romario Lomeli Freshman 3 goals, 1 assist 7 points |
 |
Sagi Lev-Ari Junior 11 goals, 4 assists 26 points |
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Top Goalkeeper 2013 Stats x x x x |
 |
KC John Junior 10 matches 1.34 GAA, 36 saves |
 |
Adam Hobbs Sophomore 13 matches 1.03 GAA, 42 saves |
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| All-Time Record vs. | 2-14-6 (All-Time Results) | |||||
| Current Streak vs. | L 2 | |||||
GAME NOTES
UNBEATEN
It was deja vu all over again at the start of the 2013 season as for the second year in a row, the Highlanders were undefeated through their first seven matches. Last year, UC Riverside won its first seven matches, but a 2-0 loss to CSU Bakersfield ended the Highlanders perfect run. This season it was 11th-ranked UCLA who hung the first loss of the year on UC Riverside.
WRONG WAY STREAK
The HIghlanders dropped four straight matches from late Sptember to early October, which is the longest such streak for the team since the 2010 season when they lost five straight during the middle of the year.
HEADED TO THE POLLS
The Highlanders received their highest-ever national rankings last season, rising as high as 19th in the NSCAA poll. In the September 9, 2013 TopDrawerSoccer poll, UC Riverisde was receiving consideration for the first time this season, and for the week of September 16, the Highlanders received votes in the Soccer Times and NSCAA.Continental Tire polls.
| (2012) 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 |
| (2013) Week Of ... |
Soccer America |
Soccer Times |
NSCAA |
College Soccer News |
Top Drawer Soccer |
| Sept. 2 | |||||
| Sept. 9 | RC | ||||
| Sept. 16 | RV | RV | RC | ||
| Sept. 23 | RV | RV | |||
| Sept. 30 |
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
The Highlanders allowed five goals to Cal Poly in a 5-1 loss on October 4, 2013 (box score/recap). The last time UC Riverside allowed that many goals in a match was on October 12, 2011 when #7 UC Irvine topped the Highlanders by an identical 5-1 score (box score/recap)
BACK-TO-BACK
The Highlanders recorded their first-ever winning season as a Division I program in 2011, and made it back-to-back winning campaigns in 2012 posting a 10-8-0 mark. Those 10 victories also established a Division I-era, single-season record for the program.
DOUBLE-DIPPING
In the Highlanders' September 8 victory over Bradley, Ivan Garcia became the first member of the Highlanders to score two goals in a match this season (box score/recap). The last UC Riverside player to do it was Richie Osborne who scored a pair at UC Irvine on October 31, 2012 (box score/recap).
SCORING DROUGHT
After opening the season on a seven-match unbeaten streak, the Highlanders concluded non-conference play with back-to-back shutout losses against No. 11 UCLA (Box Score/Recap) and University of the Incarnate Word (Box Score/Recap). The last time UC Riverside was shutout in consecutive matches was in October of last year when they dropped a pair of 1-0 road decisions to UC Davis and Sacramento State.
FIRING BLANKS
The Highlanders broke the program's Division I era record for consecutive shutout minutes a year ago by holding the opposition scoreless for 290 minutes and eight seconds spanning four matches and dating back to the end of the 2011 campaign. They nearly bested that mark this season with a streak of 280:40 straight scoreless minutes that began in the final match of the 2012 season.
UC Riverside recorded five shutouts in the team's first seven matches in 2012, but didn't record a shutout over the final 11 matches of the year. Similarly, in 2013, the team recorded four clean sheets in five matches, but has yet to blank the opposition since.
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
The Highlanders 40 assists during the 2012 season smashed the program record for the most in the Division I history of the program, besting the 2010 and 2011 squads which recorded 25 assists each. This season, the Highlanders have 13 assists in 13 matches.
| Single-Season Team Assists | ||
| 40 | 2012 | |
| 25 | 2010 | |
| 25 | 2011 | |
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
UC Riverside's 37 goals in 2012 also obliterated the program's Division I era record originally set by the 2004 squad and later tied by the 2011 version. This season the Highlanders have 13 goals in 13 matches.
| Single-Season Team Goals | ||
| 37 | 2012 | |
| 28 | 2004 | |
| 28 | 2011 | |
EZ-PASS
Last season, Juan Mendoza, Eric Gonzalez and Otis Earle each found their way into UC Riverisde's single-season assist records list finishing tied for first (8), tied for third (7) and fifth (6) respectively.
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 the previous season when UC Riverside finished the non-conference portion of their season with a 5-2-1 mark. Over the past three seasons, UCR is 17-5-3 in non-conference matches.
A NEW SET OF GOALS
In 2011, 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 used a balanced attack on the offensive side of the pitch last year as 14 different players were responsible for the Highlanders 37 goals. This season, eight different players have dented the back of the net for UC Riverside.
POSTSEASON PLAY
The Highlanders advanced to their first-ever Big West Tournament in 2011, setting what was then the Division I era record 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 in 2011 based on the NCAA's RPI rankings which is the highest the program has ever been ranked.
