Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team hosts Houston Baptist on Friday, September 4 before heading to Bakersfield for a match against the Roadrunners on Sunday, September 6. Both matches kick off at 7 pm PT (
view promo video).
The Highlanders are coming off of a 1-1 week that saw them drop a hard-fought, 2-0 decision to #17 USC (
box score/
recap/
video recap) before upending Southern Utah, 4-2 (
box score/
recap/
video recap)
Alexa Bustamante scored a pair of goals in the win over the Thunderbirds, tying Tyler Cunningham for the team lead.
Houston Baptist is 2-0 on the year with wins over Texas Southern (1-0) and UTEP (3-2, OT). Sabriah Spencer leads the Huskies with two goals, while Ellee Hall has three assists on the season. Katie Turner has played every minute between the pipes so far allowing two goals.
Houston Baptist and UC Riverside have squared off against one another on one previous occasion with the Huskies picking up a 1-0 win over the Highlanders on August 24, 2012.
CSU Bakersfield enters the week with a 1-1-1 record. After opening the season with a 4-0 blanking of Humboldt State, the Roadrunners tied Eastern Washington 1-1, and dropped a 3-1 decision to Gonzaga. They host Sacramento State this Friday, September 4.
Maja Green has two of the team's six scores on the season, and Tori Ornela has played all 290 minutes in goal for the 'Runners this season.
The Highlanders are 4-1 all-time against CSU Bakersfield with wins in each of the past three matches.
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 last season finishing the year 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. It was the 13th of her career, tying her with Renee Scachetti for the top spot on UC Riverside's career chart. Varrio collected two assists in the same match and now has eight for her UCR career.
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.
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.
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 Riverisde also accumulated 33 assists—the second highest total in program history. This year, UCR has seven goal and eight assists in four 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. Five different players have seven total scores for the team this season.
