UC Riverside
Utah Valley
Women's Soccer Heads To The Beehive State For Matches Against Utah Valley, Utah State
9/16/2014 10:07:00 AM | Women's Soccer
| Highlanders Week Five | |
| at Utah Valley | at Utah State |
| September 19, at 4:00 pm | September 21, at 11:00 am |
| Live Stats Link | Live Stats Link |
| Live Video Link | Live Video Link |
| Tickets Only Available At The Match | Click To Purchase Tickets |
Orem, UT—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team travels to the Beehive State this week as the Highlanders take on Utah Valley on Friday, September 19 and Utah State on Sunday, September 21.
UCR has won its last two matches via shutout with a 3-0 rain-lengthened victory over Northern Iowa (box score/recap/video recap) and a 4-0 clean sheet against Bakersfield (box score/recap/video recap).
Sophomore forward Blanca Barrio was named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts last week (story), scoring two goals and assisting on two others.
At 4-1-1, the Highlanders have their best record through six matches since the 2006 season when they began the year 5-1-0. With 17 scores through six matches, UC Riverside needs just five goals to match their entire offensive output from 2013.
After opening the 2014 season with a pair of loses at the Portland State Tournament, Utah Valley (5-2-1) is unbeaten in its last six matches. The Wolverines are unscored upon in their last four matches having outscored the opposition 8-0.
Kali Stubbs (3 goals, 2 assists, 8 points) leads a balanced Utah Valley offensive attack as eight different players are credited with scoring the team's 11 goals on the season. Jessica Duffin has been between the pipes every minute this season, and she boasts a goals against average of 0.48. She's also collected 37 saves in eight matches.
The Highlanders and Wolverines squared off against one another on just one prior occasion with the Highlanders picking up a 1-0 victory in September 20, 2009 thanks to a second-half goal by Kristina Kelly (box score/recap).
Utah State is 3-2-2 on the year with a match Friday vs. Utah prior to tangling with the Highlanders.
The Highlanders are 2-1-2 all-time against the Aggies (view all-time results), but the teams haven't played since battling to a scoreless tie on September 19, 2010 (box score/recap).
| Highlanders vs. Wolverines and Aggies | |||||||||||
| UC Riverside | Utah Valley | Utah State | |||||||||
| 2014 Stats & Record | 4-1-1 | 5-2-1 | 3-2-1 | ||||||||
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |||||||||
| Roster | Roster | ||||||||||
| Current Streak | W 2 | W 4 | T 1 | ||||||||
| Last Box Score | W, 4-0 vs. Bakersfield | W, 1-0 at UNLV | T, 1-1 (2OT) at Houston | ||||||||
| Next Opponent | vs. Duquesne September 26 at 7 pm PT | at Utah September 21 | at Colorado College September 26 | ||||||||
| Top Scorer x x x x |  | Tyler Cunningham Junior 3 goals, 3 assists 9 points |  | Kali Stubbs Junior 3 goals, 2 assists 8 points |  | Jessica Brooksby Sophomore 3 goals, 1 assist 7 points | |||||
| Top Goalkeeper x x x x |  | Elizabeth Silas Junior 6 matches 1.52 gaa, 22 saves | | Jessica Duffin Junior 8 matches 0.48 gaa, 37 saves |  | Jeannie Woller Junior 6 matches 1.33 gaa, 20 saves | |||||
| Record vs. | 1-0-0 (view results) | 2-1-2 (view results) | |||||||||
| Current Streak vs. | W 1 | T 1 | |||||||||
GAME NOTES
THOSE WHO DO NOT STUDY HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT
One year ago, Big West coaches picked the Highlanders to finish last in the conference. UC Riverside finished third and advanced to the Big West Championship Game before falling to Cal State Fullerton via penalty kicks. This year, Big West coaches again picked the Highlanders to finish last. UC Riverside currently has the best record in the league at 4-1-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
The Highlanders advanced to the Championship Match of the Big West Conference Tournament in 2013 tying Cal State Fullerton, 1-1, before falling in penalty kicks (box score/recap). This marked the second time in UC Riverside's 13-year history that the team made it to the league title game. In 2005, they dropped a 4-1 decision to those same Titans (box score/recap).
COACH OF THE YEAR
UC Riverside Head Coach Nat Gonzalez was named the Big West Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2013 regular season after leading the Highlanders to a third place conference finish. Prior to the season, Big West coaches picked UC Riverside to finish last.
RARIFIED AIR
The 2013 Highlanders four wins in conference were the second most in the history of the program. The 2003 squad went 5-3-1 en route to a third place Big West finish, while the 2002 and 2005 teams also each won four matches.
| Season | W | L | T | Pts | Place |
| 2003 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | Third |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | Second |
| 2002 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 | Sixth |
| 2013 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | Third |
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Big West coaches named UC Riverside junior forward Tyler Cunningham to the preseason All-Conference Team (story) while College Sports Madness.com selected Tyler to its Preseason All-Big West Second Team, and sophomore midfielder Sammy Arellano and junior defender Briana Thomasson to the First Team (story).
FEELING A LITTLE RANK
For the first time in the history of the program, the UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team is ranked in the NSCAA West Region. The Highlanders were ranked seventh each of the first two weeks of the season before moving up to fifth following the third week of play.
HIGHLANDERS HARDWARE
Tyler Cunningham was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player at the UNLV Rebel Classic after leading the Highlanders to a 2-0 record and the Tournament Championship (story). She scored a goal and dished out two assists on the weekend. In addition to being named Most Outstanding Player, the Fairfield, CA native was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player and to the All-Tournament Team. Alina Cheatham and Amber Marani also earned All-Tournament honors.
The Big West named Cunningham the conference Offensive Player of the Week (story), and CollegeSportsMadness.com named her the Madness Big West Women's Soccer Player of the Week (story).
Blanca Barrio joined Cunningham as a 2014 recipient of Big West Offensive Player of the Week accolades when the conference honored her for her play from September 8-14 (story). She scored two goals and handed out a pair of assists in the Highlanders 3-0 and 4-0 blankings of Northern Iowa and Bakersfield respectively.
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
Blanca Barrio has five assists on the season through the first six matches of the year. The school record for a season is six, set by Vanessa Chanez and Amber Plumlee in 2004.
RARIFIED AIR II
At 4-1-1, the Highlanders have their best record through six matches since the 2006 season when they began the year 5-1-0.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
With 17 goals through six matches, UC Riverside needs just five more to match the entire 2013 season output. The Highlanders are on pace to challenge the program record of 45 goals in a season set during the 2004 campaign.
With 21 assists through six matches, the 2014 squad already ranks fifth in the program history for most assists in a season. They are on pace to shatter the previous record of 39 set in 2004.
| Single-Season Team Goals | Single-Season Team Assists | |||||||
| Season | Matches | Goals | Projected | xxxxxxxxxxxxx | Season | Matches | Assists | Projected |
| 2004 | 19 | 45 | 2004 | 19 | 39 | |||
| 2002 | 19 | 36 | 2005 | 21 | 24 | |||
| 2008 | 20 | 32 | 2002 | 19 | 24 | |||
| 2003 | 21 | 31 | 2006 | 18 | 22 | |||
| 2005 | 21 | 28 | 2014 | 6 | 21 | 63 | ||
| 2006 | 18 | 26 | ||||||
| 2012 | 20 | 24 | ||||||
| 2007 | 18 | 24 | ||||||
| 2013 | 22 | 22 | ||||||
| 2011 | 19 | 21 | ||||||
| 2014 | 6 | 17 | 51 | |||||
FOUR SCORES AND SIX YEARS AGO
The Highlanders scored four goals in a match on August 24, 2014 beating Northern Arizona by a score of 4-2 (box score/recap). On September 12, 2014, they dropped a quad on Bakersfield in a 4-0 victory (box score/recap/video recap). The last time UCR scored more than four goals in a match was in a 5-0 season-opening win over Southern Utah on August 22, 2008 (box score/recap).
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Eleven different Highlanders have dented the back of the net so far in 2014. Last season, 12 players found their way into the scoring column throughout the year.
TWO FOR TWO
The Highlanders started the 2013 Big West season with wins in each of their first two matches. This marked the first time since the 2005 campaign that UC Riverside began a season 2-0, and the first time since that same year that the Highlanders were alone atop the conference standings. UCR finished the 2005 season with an undefeated 4-0-3 mark.
