University of California, Riverside
Cal State Northridge
Playoff Positioning Tightens As Men's Soccer Travels To Cal State Northridge Saturday
10/30/2013 1:34:00 PM | Men's Soccer
| November 2 | 7:00 pm | at Cal State Northridge | Audio | Live Stats | Purchase Tickets |
Northridge, CA—With three matches to go in the regular season, the UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team is battling for a postseason playoff berth, and the Highlanders can help themselves out quite a bit Saturday, November 2 as they travel to second place Cal State Northridge for a 7 pm PT kick off.
| South Division | ||||
| Team | W | L | T | Pts |
| UC Irvine (currently has tiebreaker over CSUN) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Cal State Northridge | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| UC Riverside | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
The Highlanders can still finish as high as first, but UC Irvine and the Matadors are in the driver's seat as both will clinch a spot in the Big West Conference Tournament with their next victories.Â
Last Saturday, UC Riverside inched closer to the postseason with a 2-1, come-from-behind victory at Cal State Fullerton. Freshman Tyler Miguel scored a pair of second-half goals to lead the charge (Box Score/Recap).
The last time the Highlanders and Matadors squared off, the teams battled to a scoreless tie (Box Score/Recap). CSUN was ranked sixth in the nation at the time, and UC Riverside goalkeeper Ashkan Khosravi recorded eight saves en route to that weeks Big West Defensive Player of the Week award (read full story). The Highlanders are 2-14-7 all-time against the Matadors, but both of those victories came in the last five matches between the teams.
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| Highlanders vs. Matadors Match Capsules | ||||||
| UC Riverside | Cal State Northridge | |||||
| 2013 Record & Stats | 7-6-3, 2-4-1 | 12-3-1, 4-2-1 | ||||
| Schedule | Schedule | |||||
| Roster | Roster | |||||
| Conference | Big West | Big West | ||||
| Current Streak | W 1 | L 1 | ||||
| Most Recent Box Score | W, 2-1 vs. Cal State Fullerton | L, 1-0 vs UC Irvine | ||||
| Next Opponent | November 6 vs UC Irvine | Novemeber 6 at Cal State Fullerton | ||||
|
Top Scorer 2013 Stats x x x x |
 |
Romario Lomeli Freshman 3 goals, 1 assist 7 points |
 |
Sagi Lev-Ari Junior 11 goals, 5 assists 27 points |
||
|
Top Goalkeeper 2013 Stats x x x x |
 |
KC John Junior 11 matches 1.40 GAA, 40 saves |
 |
Adam Hobbs Sophomore 16 matches 0.95 GAA, 50 saves |
||
| All-Time Record vs. | 2-14-7 (All-Time Results) | |||||
| Current Streak vs. | T 1 | |||||
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.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
The Highlanders have had three different players earn Defensive Player of the Week honors so far this season—defender Hayden Leslie on September 2 (full story), goalkeeper KC John on September 23 (full story) and Ashkan Khosravi on October 21 (full story).
WRONG WAY STREAK
The Highlanders dropped four straight matches from late September 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). Tyler Miguel joined Garcia in the multiple goal club on October 26 as his two second-half scores led the Highlanders to a 2-1 victory over host Cal State Fullerton.
SCORING DROUGHT
The Highlanders were held scoreless for three straight matches in mid-October which is the longest such streak since mid-September of 2009 when UC Riverside was also shutout for three consecutive matches.
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. In 2013, the team has blanked the opposition on six occasions, which ties the 2007 squad for the most shutouts in a campaign.
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 16 assists in 16 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 15 goals in 16 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, nine 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.
