UC Riverside
Cal State Northridge
Men's Soccer Honors Seniors, Hosts CSUN In Final Home Match Of Regular Season
10/28/2014 9:42:00 AM | Men's Soccer
| Highlanders in Week Ten | |
| vs. CSUN | at Cal State Fullerton |
| October 29 at 7:00 pm PT | November 1 at 7:00 pm PT |
| Live Stats Link | Live Stats Link |
| Live Audio Link | |
| Live Video Link | |
| Click To Purchase Tickets | Click To Purchase Tickets |
Riverside—With three matches to go, the race for the top three spots in the Big West's South Division is tighter than a gnat's patoot as just three points separates the four divisional foes. The third-place Highlanders are looking to give themselves some breathing room this week with matches vs. fourth-place CSUN on Wednesday, October 29 at 7 pm PT, and at first-place Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, November 1 at 7 pm.
UC Riverside is honoring the six members of the Men's Soccer Class of 2015—Otis Earle, K.C. John, Juan Mendoza Jr., Ulises Mosqueda, Julio Reyes and Hector Romo—in ceremonies prior to kickoff.
UC Riverside went 1-0-1 last week to jump back into the postseason chase, topping the second-ranked team in the nation, UC Irvine, 2-1, (box score/recap/video recap) and tying Cal State Fullerton, 1-1 (box score/recap).
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2014 Big West Men's Soccer Standings South Division Through October 28 | ||||
| W | L | T | Pts | |
| UC Irvine | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| UC Riverside | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| CSUN | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
The Highlanders dropped a 2-1 decision at CSUN earlier in the year (box score/recap), but a win this week over the Matadors would give them a four-point lead with two matches to play.
CSUN kept pace with UCR over the weekend thanks to a 3-0 victory over UC Irvine. Forward Sagi Lev-Ari scored two goals in the match to give him 40 for his career. He has 10 goals on the season to lead the Big West. The rest of the Matadors offense has just six goals on the year. Adam Hobs has been CSUN's primary keeper this season posting a goals against average of 0.88 in 14 matches.
UC Riverside is 3-15-7 all-time against the Matadors (view results), but all three of those victories have come in the last seven meetings between the clubs.
In addition to tying the Highlanders over the weekend, Cal State Fullerton defeated CSUN 1-0 earlier in the week to maintain their lead in the standings over UCR. The Titans have a three-headed scoring attack in the form of Marc Fenelus (5 goals, 2 assists), Garrett Lossee (4, 1) and Amara Soumah (4, 1). Jeff Salt has started 11 of the team's 17 matches between the pipes this season and owns a goals against average of 0.89.
The Highlanders are 10-12-5 all-time against the Titans (view results).
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| Highlanders vs. Matadors and Titans | |||||||||||
| UC Riverside | CSUN | Cal State Fullerton | |||||||||
| 2014 Stats & Record | 3-9-3, 2-3-2 | 6-8-2, 2-4-1 | 8-6-3, 3-3-1 | ||||||||
| xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | ||||||||
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |||||||||
| Conference | Big West | ||||||||||
| Current Streak | T 1 | W 1 | T 1 | ||||||||
| Last Box Score | T, 1-1 (2OT) vs. Cal State Fullerton | Â W, 3-0 at UC Irvine | Â T, 1-1 (2OT) at UC Riverside | ||||||||
| Next Opponent | Â November 5 at UC Irvine | November 1 vs. UC Irvine | November 5 at CSUN | ||||||||
| Top Scorer x x x x |  | Michael Salazar Junior 5 goals, 1 assist 11 points |  | Sagi Lev-Ari Senior 10 goals, 0 assists 20 points |  | Marc Fenelus Freshman 5 goals, 2 assists 12 points | |||||
| Top Goalkeeper x x x x |  | Ashkan Khosravi Junior 14 matches 1.18 gaa, 57 saves |  | Adam Hobbs Junior 14 matches 0.88 gaa, 43 saves |  | Jeff Salt RS-Junior 11 matches 0.89 gaa, 40 saves | |||||
| Record vs. | 3-15-7 (view results) | 10-12-5 (view results) | |||||||||
| Current Streak vs. | L 1 | T 1 | |||||||||
GAME NOTES
LET THE OCTOPI FLY
Michael Salazar became the first player in UC Riverside's Division I history to record a hat trick in the team's season-opening, 5-1 victory over visiting Pacific (box score/recap/video recap). He also added an assist, setting the program's Division I-era record for points in a match as well. The Big West and College Sports Madness honored Salazar with Offensive Player of the Week (story) and Player of the Week accolades respectively (story), while College Soccer News named him to their 12-man National Team of the Week (story).
DEEE—FENSE
The Highlanders have allowed 18 goals in 15 matches this season for a goals against average of 1.18. The program records for fewest goals allowed in a season and lowest GAA are 23 and 1.10 respectively, both set in 2007.
GIMME FIVE
Ashkan Khosravi earned Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week accolades (story) for the fifth time in his career on September 22 as he was honored following his shutout performance vs. San Diego (box score/recap/video recap).
DOMINATING D
UC Riverside's Philipp Dominique was named Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Week for matches played October 20-26. He scored the lone non-penalty kick goal to help the Highlanders defeat second-ranked UC Irvine, 2-1, on October 22 (box score/recap/video recap), while contributing to the team's defensive effort which held the Anteaters to just three shots on goal (including one PK) over the entire 90 minutes. In UCR's October 25, 1-1 tie against Cal State Fullerton (box score/recap), Dominique spearheaded a Highlanders defensive effort that yielded just four shots on goal to the Titans.
ALL OR NOTHING
The Highlanders have scored nine of their 16 goals in two matches—the season-opening 5-1 vitory over Pacific (box score/recap/video recap), and a 4-0 win over Sacramento State in the team's Big West opener (box score/recap). In their other 13 matches, the Highlanders have scored seven goals.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO BACK
The Highlanders recorded their first winning season as a Division I program in 2011, and made it back-to-back-to-back winning campaigns in 2012 and 2013 posting records of 10-8-0 and 9-8-3. Those 10 victories also established a Division I-era, single-season record for the program.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a 7-1-0 mark in non-conference matches in 2012, the Highlanders broke 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-plus seasons, UCR is 18-11-4 in non-conference matches, but went 1-6-1 in 2014.
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 advanced to their second conference tournament a year ago by finishing third in the South Division of the Big West.
TAKE ME TO THE TOP
Goalkeeper Ashkan Khosravi continues to close in on the Highlanders career wins record. Charles Alamo occupies the top spot in UC Riverside history with 21.
| Career Wins | ||
| Goalkeeper | Years | Wins |
| Charles Alamo | 2003-07 | 21 |
| Ashkan Khosravi | 2012-present | 17 |
| Cody Suppé | 2009-11 | 10 |
Khosravi also recently cracked the top five in career saves for the Highlanders, and is now in second place.
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| Career Saves | ||
| Goalkeeper | Years | Saves |
| Charles Alamo | 2003-07 | 305 |
| Ashkan Khosravi | 2012-present | 156 |
| Cody Suppé | 2009-11 | 155 |
