Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team has a five point lead over CSUN in the race for the Big West South Division Championship, and the Highladers can lock the number one seed up with victories this week against the Matadors on Wednesday, October 19 and vs. Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, October 22. Both matches begin at 7 pm PT at the UC Riverside Soccer Stadium.
Big West
Men's Soccer Standings |
| NORTH DIVISION |
| UC Santa Barbara |
4 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
| Sacramento State |
3 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
| UC Davis |
2 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
| Cal Poly |
1 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| SOUTH DIVISION |
| UC Riverside |
4 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
| CSUN |
2 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
| Cal State Fullerton |
2 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
| UC Irvine |
2 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
Wins in both of those matches would give the Highlanders 19 points with two matches to play. CSUN could only finish with 17 points, while Cal State Fullerton could finish with as many as 16.
Romario Lomeli helped UC Riverside split its two matches last week with a goal and two assists in a 3-0 win over UC Irvine (
box score/
recap). The Highlanders' conference unbeaten streak was snapped Saturday with a 1-0 loss at Cal State Fullerton (
box score/
recap). That marked the first time UC Riverside has been shutout this season.
Goalkeeper Victor Morales continues to lead the conference in wins (9), shutouts (5), saves (83) and save percentage (.814), and his 1.21 goals against average is second in the Big West. His win and shutout figures are the second most in program history, behind Charles Alamo who produced six clean sheets during the 2007 campaign.
CSUN (5-6-3, 2-2-2) began Big West play with wins over UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, but the Matadors are 0-2-2 in their last four matches. Juan Samayoa leads CSUN in scoring with five goals and four assists. All five of his scores are off of penalty kicks. Kevin Marquez has played every minute in goal this season for the Matadors, and has a goals against average of 1.42. His 73 saves are the second most in the league.
The Highlanders are 4-17-7 all-time against CSUN, but 4-5-1 over the last 10 matches. The Matadors won both matches between the clubs a year ago.
Cal State Fullerton snapped a three-match losing streak last week with a 1-1 tie at CSUN and a win over the Highlanders. Alex Heilmann is second in the Big West with eight goals, while the rest of the Titans squad has a combined nine scores on the year.
Paul-Andre Guerin has been Fullerton's primary keeper, starting 10 matches with a 1.28 goals against average. David Elias has the other five starts and a 1.29 GAA. He was the keeper of record in the Titan's two results last week.
The Highlanders are 11-15-6 all-time against Cal State Fullerton. The Titans have won three of the last four meetings between the teams.
GAME NOTES
#WINNING
The Highlanders tied the program record for Big West wins in a season with their 3-0 victory over UC Irvine on October 12. They also need just one win to tie the Division I-era record for overall wins in a season.
| Most Big West Wins, Season, Team |
| W-L-T |
Year |
| 4-1-1 |
2016 |
| 4-3-3 |
2011 |
| 4-3-3 |
2014 |
| 4-5-1 |
2004 |
| 4-5-1 |
2013 |
| Most Wins, Season, Team |
| W-L-T |
Year |
| 10-8-0 |
2012 |
| 9-5-1 |
2016 |
| 9-8-3 |
2013 |
| 9-6-4 |
2011 |
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Goalkeeper Vincent Morales has 83 saves through 15 matches this season. If he keeps up that pace for the rest of the year, he will challenge the program record for most saves in a season.
| Most Saves, Season, Individual |
| Saves |
Player |
Year |
| 107 |
Brett Bentley |
2001 |
| 92 |
Cody Suppé |
2011 |
| 83 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 83 |
Ryan Schmitz |
2008 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2006 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
He is also challenging the Highlanders' record for most wins in a season, and shutouts in a season.
| Most Wins, Season, Individual |
| Wins |
Player |
Year |
| 10 |
Ashkan Khosravi |
2012 |
| 9 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 9 |
Cody Suppé |
2011 |
| 7 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
| Most Shutouts, Season, Individual |
| Wins |
Player |
Year |
| 6 |
Charles Alamo |
2007 |
| 5 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 4 |
Ashkan Khosravi |
2012 |
| 4 |
KC John |
2013 |
| 4 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
DAZZLING DEBUT
In his first two starts between the pipes as a collegian last season, then-sophomore keeper Vincent Morales pitched a shutout vs. San Francisco in a 3-0 victory on September 10, 2015 (
box score/
recap), and allowed just one goal to the number eight team in the nation, UCLA, in a 2-1 overtime win on September 13 (
box score/
recap). He was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts (
story).
Morales earned his second Big West Defensive Player of the Week award on September 5, 2016 following the team's second-place finish at the UNLV Johann Memorial Classic (
story). The Bellflower, California native picked up his third career Defensive Player of the Week Award on September 19 of this year, following the Highlanders' defeat of 20th-ranked Gonzaga (
story).
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Stephen Copley was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the Highlanders' victories over UC Davis and Sacramento State on October 6 and October 8 respectively (
story). UC Riverside held two of the highest scoring teams in the league to just one combined goal.
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
Senior midfielder Romario Lomeli moved past Otis Earle '14 into first place on the Highlanders' career assists chart with his first of two assists at San Francisco on September 25 (
box score/
recap).
| Most Assists, Career |
| Player |
Assists |
| Romario Lomeli |
19 |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Andrew Villalobos |
11 |
| Luc Harrington |
11 |
| Jordan Arias |
11 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO Since the 2011 season, the Highlanders are 39-2-2 when they score two or more goals in a match.
| Season |
Record Scoring Two-Plus Goals |
| 2016 |
7-1-1 |
| 2015 |
6-0-0 |
| 2014 |
4-0-1 |
| 2013 |
6-0-0 |
| 2012 |
8-1-0 |
| 2011 |
8-0-0 |
BREAKING RANKS
The Highlanders beat #8 UCLA, 2-1 in overtime, on September 13, 2015
(box score/
recap). It was the first time that UC Riverside defeated the Bruins (
1-4-0 as a Division I program), and the team's second Division I victory over a ranked, non-conference opponent [2-0 on September 4, 2007 at #21 San Diego State (
box score/
recap)]. The team's third win over a ranked non-conference foe came earlier this season on September 18, when the Highlanders upended #20 Gonzaga, 2-0 (
box score/
recap)
ALL-REGION
The Highlanders have had players named to the All-Far West Region Team in four of the last five years, and in 2015, they had two players honored—Michael Salazar and Norberto Ochoa—each of whom was named to the Third Team.
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 in 2012 by finishing third in the South Division of the Big West, and in 2014 season they earned the number one seed in the South Division.
FEELING GRAND
The Highlanders topped the 1,000 home attendance mark for the fifth and sixth times in program history in 2015.
| Attendance |
Date |
Opponent |
| 2,016 |
Sept. 28, 2011 |
#7 UC Santa Barbara |
| 1,186 |
Nov. 5, 2011 |
UC Davis |
| 1,147 |
Nov. 6, 2013 |
#15 UC Irvine |
| 1,106 |
Sept. 28, 2012 |
#3 UC Santa Barbara |
| 1,036 |
Oct. 21, 2015 |
UC Irvine |
| 1,018 |
Sept.r 25, 2015 |
San Jose State |
GOING PRO
Michael Salazar became the first member of the Highlanders to score in a regulation MLS match on July 2, 2016, netting a pair of goals for the Montreal Impact in their 3-2 victory over New England.
FEELING A DRAFT
The Highlanders have had players selected in the MLS Super Draft in each of the last three seasons, and in the Super Draft or Supplemental Draft in each of the last five seasons.
| Draft |
Student-Athlete |
Team |
Round |
Overall Pick |
| 2016 MLS Super Draft |
Michael Salazar |
Montreal Impact |
2nd |
24th |
| 2015 MLS Super Draft |
Otis Earle |
FC Dallas |
1st |
15th |
| 2014 MLS Super Draft |
Aaron Long |
Portland Timbers |
2nd |
26th |
| 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft |
Jose Diaz |
Chivas USA |
1st |
2nd |
| 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft |
César Diaz Pizarro |
San Jose Earthquakes |
2nd |
25th |
