UC Riverside
Duquesne
Women's Soccer Hosts Duquesne, Travels To Texas Tech This Week
9/24/2014 1:21:00 PM | Women's Soccer
| Highlanders Week Six | |
| vs. Duquesne | at #6 Texas Tech |
| September 26, at 7:00 pm | September 28, at 11:00 am |
| Live Stats Link | Live Stats Link |
| Live Video Link | |
| Click To Purchase Tickets | Click To Purchase Tickets |
Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team returns home this Friday, September 26 to take on Duquesne at 7 pm PT before heading to Texas Tech on Sunday, September 28 to square off against the Red Raiders at 11 am.
The Highlanders hit a minor bump in the road this weekend as they went 0-1-1 on their trip to Utah. UC Riverside held on for a 1-1 draw against Utah Valley on Friday despite playing a woman down for 35 minutes of the match (box score/recap), and then fell 1-0 to Utah State on Sunday despite outshooting the Aggies 19-7 (box score/recap).
Duquesne enters the week with a 3-3-2 record following a 6-9-2 campaign in 2013. The Dukes also play UC Santa Barbara on their west coast swing taking on the Gauchos on Sunday, September 28. Maddie Layman is the team's leading scorer with three goals while Linnea Faccenda has two goals and two assists on the year. Devon Tabata is the team's primary keeper with a 0.79 goals against average and five shutouts in her seven matches.
Texas Tech remains undefeated on the season with a 9-0-0 mark and is ranked as high as sixth in the nation. The Red Raiders have outscored their opponents 20-4 in 2014. Janine Beckie (6 goals) and Hannah Devine (5 goals) lead a one-two scoring punch for Texas Tech, while Alli Murphy leads the nation with 10 assists. Lauren Watson has played every minute between the pipes this year for the Red Riaders and boasts a 0.42 goals against average with five shutouts.
The is the first time that the Highlanders have squared off against the Dukes and the Red Raiders.
| Highlanders vs. Dukes and Red Raiders | |||||||||||
| UC Riverside | Duquesne | #6 Texas Tech | |||||||||
| 2014 Stats & Record | 4-2-2 | 3-3-2 | 9-0-0 | ||||||||
| Schedule | Schedule | Schedule | |||||||||
| Roster | Roster | Roster | |||||||||
| Current Streak | L 1 | L 1 | W 9 | ||||||||
| Last Box Score | L, 1-0 at Utah State | L, 2-0 at Georgetown | W, 1-0 vs. Memphis | ||||||||
| Next Opponent | at UC Davis October 2 at 4 pm PT | vs. Richmond October 3 | vs Oklahoma October 3 | ||||||||
| Top Scorer x x x x |  | Tyler Cunningham Junior 3 goals, 3 assists 9 points |  | Maddie Layman Sophomore 3 goals, 0 assists 6 points |  | Alli Murphy Junior 2 goals, 10 assists 14 points | |||||
| Top Goalkeeper x x x x |  | Elizabeth Silas Junior 8 matches 1.35 gaa, 29 saves |  | Devon Tabata Senior 7 matches 0.79 gaa, 33 saves |  | Lauren Watson Sophomore 9 matches 0.42 gaa, 31 saves | |||||
| Record vs. | First Meeting | First Meeting | |||||||||
| Current Streak vs. | |||||||||||
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 4-2-2.
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. They dropped back to seventh this week.
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 eight matches of the year. The school record for a season is six, set by Vanessa Chanez and Amber Plumlee in 2004.
RARIFIED AIR II
The Highlanders are 4-2-2 through eight matches. The last time they had a better record at this point in the season was in 2006 when they were 6-2-0.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
With 18 goals through eight matches, UC Riverside needs just four 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 eight 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 | 8 | 21 | 47 | ||
| 2006 | 18 | 26 | ||||||
| 2012 | 20 | 24 | ||||||
| 2007 | 18 | 24 | ||||||
| 2013 | 22 | 22 | ||||||
| 2011 | 19 | 21 | ||||||
| 2014 | 8 | 18 | 40 | |||||
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 conference season 2-0, and the first time since that same year that the Highlanders were alone atop the Big West standings. UCR finished the 2005 season with an undefeated 4-0-3 mark.
