UC Riverside
Cal Poly
Men's Soccer Begins Conference Play With Weekend Road Matches At Cal Poly, UCSB
10/2/2013 12:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer
| Oct. 4 | 8:00 pm | at Cal Poly | Video | Audio | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
| Oct. 6 | 5:00 pm | at UCSB | Video | Audio | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
San Luis Obispo, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (5-2-2) begins Big West play this weekend as the Highlanders head up the coast to play at Cal Poly on Friday, October 4 at 8 pm PT, and at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, October 6 at 5 pm.
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.
Cal Poly (7-3-0) is coming off a 1-1 week in which they lost, 2-1, against Denver, but picked up a 5-1 victory over Air Force. Against the Falcons, senior forward Mackenzie Pridham recorded the eighth hat-trick in program history, earning Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors in the process (September 23-29).
The Mustangs own the all-time record against the Highlanders, 12-7-2, but UC Riverside snapped an eight-match winless streak against Cal Poly last year with a 3-2 victory at home (Box Score/Recap).
UC Santa Barbara enters the week with a 5-4-0 mark having snapped a two-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount on Sunday. The Gauchos and Highlanders have one common opponent on the year as both were shutout by UCLA.
UCSB is 17-3-1 all-time against the Highlanders, but two of UC Riverside's wins have come in the last three meetings between the clubs. The Gauchos beat the the Highlanders last season, 3-1, at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium (Box Score/Recap).
| Highlanders vs. Mustangs & Gauchos Match Capsules | ||||||
| UC Riverside | Cal Poly | UCSB | ||||
| 2013 Record & Stats | 5-2-2 | 7-3-0 | 5-4-0 | |||
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | ||||
| Roster | Roster | Roster | ||||
| Conference | Big West | Big West | Big West | |||
| Current Streak | L 2 | L 1 | W 1 | |||
| Most Recent Box Score | L, 2-0 vs. Incarnate Word | L, 2-1 at Denver | W, 1-0 vs. LMU | |||
| Next Opponent | October 11 vs. Sacramento State | October 6 vs. Cal State Fullerton | October 11 at Cal State Northridge | |||
|
Top Scorer 2013 Stats x x x x |
 |
Romario Lomeli Freshman 3 goals, 1 assist 7 points |
 |
Mackenzie Pridham Senior 8 goals, 2 assists 18 points |
 |
Goffin Boyoko Senior 4 goals 8 points |
|
Top Goalkeeper 2013 Stats x x x x |
 |
KC John Junior 9 matches 0.95 GAA, 33 saves |
 |
Wade Hamilton Sophomore 10 matches 1.36 GAA, 33 saves |
 |
Josh McNeely Freshman 7 matches 0.83 GAA, 17 saves |
| All-Time Record vs. | 7-12-2 (All-Time Results) | 3-17-1 (All-Time Results) | ||||
| Current Streak vs. | W 1 | L 1 | ||||
GAME NOTES
UNBEATEN
It was deja vu all over again at the start of the 2013 season as for the second season 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.
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 |
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. The last UC Riverside player to do it was Richie Osborne who scored a pair at UC Irvine on October 31, 2012.
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.
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 10 assists in nine 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 11 goals in nine 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.
THREE OF A KIND
Juan Mendoza was credited with three assists in the Highlanders 4-1 victory over UC Irvine on October 17, 2012 becoming just the fourth player in the Division I history of the program to accomplish the feat.
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.
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.
