Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team continues Big West play this week hosting Hawai'i on Friday, October 9 at 7 pm PT and UC Davis on Sunday, October 11 at 1 pm.
The Highlanders opened their conference season with a 1-0 loss at UC Irvine, despite outshooting the Anteaters, 10-7 (
box score/
recap). Alexa Bustamante and Tyler Cunningham continue to lead UC Riverside's balanced scoring attack with three goals and two assists each. Ten Highlanders in all have dented the back of the net this season.
Defensively, UCR is allowing less than a goal per match. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Silas has a goals against average of 0.91 on the year.
Hawai'i enters the week with a 3-7-0 record including 0-1-0 in the Big West. The Rainbow Wahine dropped their conference opener, 3-0, over the weekend to UC Santa Barbara, and hosted Cal Poly late Sunday evening.
Dani Crawford leads the team in scoring with three goals. Hawai'i is averaging just over a goal per match with 12 goals in 11 matches. Defensively, the Rainbow Wahine have allowed 22 goals. Monk Berger is the team's top goalkeeper with nine starts and a goals against average of 1.71.
UC Riverside is 2-2-1 all-time against Hawai'i. The Rainbow Wahine picked up a 2-1, double overtime victory over the Highlanders a year ago.
UC Davis is 8-3-2 including 1-0-1 in conference. The Aggies won their Big West opener, 1-0 in overtime against Cal Poly on Thursday, and tied CSUN, 0-0, in double overtime on Sunday. Six of UC Davis' last seven matches have gone into extra time.
Rachel Smith is the top goal scorer for the Aggies with five. Four other members of the team have at least two goals on the year. Freshman Alexis Smith has played every minute in goal for Davis, and boasts a microscopic goals against average of 0.43.
The Highlanders are 5-3-3 all-time against the Aggies, but UC Riverside hasn't won a match in the series since the 2009 season. UC Davis is 3-0-2 against UCR in the last five meetings between the clubs.
| Highlanders vs. Rainbow Wahine and Aggies |
| UC Riverside | Hawai'i | UC Davis |
| 2015 Stats & Record | 6-6-0 | 3-7-1, 0-1-0 | 8-3-2, 1-0-1 |
| Schedule & Results | Schedule & Results | Schedule & Results |
| Roster | Roster | Roster |
| Conference | Big West | Big West | Big West |
| Current Streak | L 1 | W 1 | T 1 |
| Last Box Score | L, 1-0 at UC Irvine | L, 3-0 vs. UC Santa Barbara | T, 0-0 (2 OT) vs. CSUN |
| Next Opponent | October 16 at Long Beach State | October 11 at Cal State Fullerton | October 18 vs. UC Santa Barbara |
Top Scorer
x
x
x
x | | Alexa Bustamante
Senior
3 goal, 2 assist
8 points | Dani Crawford
Sophomore
3 goals, 0 assists
6 points | Rachel Smith
Junior
5 goals, 0 assists
10 points |
| | Tyler Cunningham
Senior
3 goal, 2 assist
8 points | | |
Top Goalkeeper
x
x
x
x | | Elizabeth Silas
Senior
12 matches
0.91 gaa, 45 saves | Monk Berger
Junior
9 matches
1.71 gaa, 32 saves | Alexis Smith
Freshman
13 matches
0.43 gaa, 37 saves |
| Record vs. | | 2-2-1 (view results) | 5-3-3 (view results) |
| Current Streak vs. | | L 1 | T 1 |
GAME NOTESTHOSE WHO DO NOT STUDY HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT ITTwo years 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. Last year, Big West coaches again picked the Highlanders to finish last only to watch as UCR finished in fifth place, one game out of playoff spot. This season, conference coaches pegged UC Riverside to come in eighth place. When will they ever learn.
LENDING A HELPING FOOTTyler Cunningham broke the school record for assists in a season last year finishing with 10—four more than Vanessa Chanez and Amber Plumlee, who set the mark in 2004, and teammate Blanca Barrio, who had six assists last year.
Cunningham picked up an assist in the Highlanders second match of the 2015 season, and added another in the team's 2-1 overtime loss to Arizona, which moved her past Renee Scachetti into the top spot on UC Riverside's career assists chart with 14. Barrio has a team-high four assists this season giving her 10 for her career.
DOUBLE DIGITSThe Highlanders need four more wins over their final eight regular season matches to reach the 10-win plateau for the first time since the 2006 season.
| Year | W | L | T |
| 2004 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
| 2003 | 11 | 7 | 3 |
| 2005 | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 2002 | 10 | 8 | 1 |
| 2006 | 10 | 7 | 1 |
GONE STREAKINGThe Highlanders won three straight matches from August 30 through September 6. That marked the first time UCR won three straight since the 2009 season. The last time UC Riverside won four matches in a row was early in the 2006 season.
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBERElizabeth Silas has a goals against average of 0.91 this season. Should she keep that figure below 1.00, she would become just the third keeper in program history to record a sub-1.00 GAA. The other two are Tawny Poggio, who did it three times (0.69 in 2004, 0.81 in 2005, and 0.88 in 2003) and Jessica White (0.80 in 2009).
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWOThe Highlanders are 24-3-2 over the past three-plus seasons when scoring two or more goals in a match. Their last loss when scoring two or more goals was a 3-2 decision vs. Cal Poly on October 19 of last year (
box score/
recap).
RARIFIED AIRThe 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.
A PERFECT 10
The Highlanders are honoring the 2005 Women's Soccer Team at halftime of their Sunday, October 18 match against Cal State Fullerton. The 2005 version of the Highlanders became the first women's program in UC Riverside's Division I history to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, and is arguably the greatest team, regardless of sport, in the Highlanders; Division I era.
FEELING A LITTLE RANK
Last season, for the first time in the history of the program, the UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team found itself ranked in the NSCAA West Region. The Highlanders peaked at fifth midway through the year.
HIGHLANDERS HARDWARE
Tyler Cunningham and Amber Marani were both named to the All-West Region Team in 2014 marking the first time since 2004 that the Highlanders had players so honored (story).
YOU OLD BLANKETY-BLANK
The Highlanders recorded seven shutouts in 2014 which is the most for the program since the 2009 squad recorded eight clean sheets. This season, UCR has a pair of shutouts through the first nine matches, and a goals against average of 1.10. The program record for lowest GAA in a season is 0.70 set in 2004.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Highlanders 30 goals in 2014 are the fifth most in the history of the program, and the team's goals per match average is the third highest ever. UC Riverside also accumulated 33 assists—the second highest total in program history. This year, UCR has 16 goal and 15 assists through 11 matches.
| Single-Season Team Goals |
| Season | Matches | Goals |
| 2004 | 19 | 45 |
| 2002 | 19 | 36 |
| 2008 | 20 | 32 |
| 2003 | 21 | 31 |
| 2014 | 18 | 30 |
| | |
| Single-Season Team Assists |
| Season | Matches | Assists |
| 2004 | 19 | 39 |
| 2014 | 18 | 33 |
SPREADING THE WEALTHSixteen different Highlanders dented the back of the net in 2014, which is the most in the history of the program. Ten different players have 16 total scores for the team this season.
