Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team returns home for the final three matches of the 2016 season beginning with a Frriday, October 21 match against UC Santa Barbara. Kick off is scheduled for 7 pm PT. The Highlanders then host Cal Poly on Sunday, October 23 at 1 pm.
Friday's match is also UC Riversdie's Domestic Violece Awareness Match, as the Highlanders are partnering with the Family Justice Center to end domestic violence (
read press release).
UCR dropped both of its matches last week, falling 1-0 at CSUN (
box score/
recap), and 4-0 at UC Davis (
box score/
recap). The Highlanders have lost eight straight matches and been shutout in each of the last four.
Tayler Dragoo's four goals and nine points are still tops on the team, followed by Quinley Quezada's two scores and four points. Alanna Guzman is the team's primary keeper with 12 starts and a 1.39 goals against average, but injuries have given three starts to Annie Bailey (1.09 GAA) and one to Laura Perjanik (4.00 GAA).
UC Santa Barbara is 11-2-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the Big West following a 2-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton Sunday. That moved the Gauchos into a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference with UC Irvine, Hawai'i and UC Davis.
UCSB has the highest-scoring offense in the league (28 goals), and the top individual scorer in Amanda Ball (10 goals). Brittney Rogers is the Gauchos primary keeper with 13 starts on the season. Her 0.49 goals against average is the second best in the Big West as is her .854 save percentage.
The Highlanders are 4-10-0 all-time against UC Santa Barbara, but the teams have split their last four matches. Each of the last two matches have gone to overtime.
Cal Poly is 6-8-2 heading into the week, and 1-3-1 in the Big West. The Mustangs opened conference play with a win over Hawai'i, but are 0-3-1 in their last four matches. They have been outscored 8-2 during that time.
Caitlyn Kreutz paces Cal Poly with four goals, three assists and 11 points. Sophia Brown has played all 1490-plus minutes in goal for the Mustangs, and has a goals against average of 1.39 to go along with a league-high 77 saves.
UC Riverside is 2-8-4 all-time against Cal Poly, but 2-2-1 over the past five matches. The Highlanders won last year's meeting on the road, 2-0 (
box score/
recap).
GAME NOTES
SCORING DROUGHT
The Highlanders have 14 goals in 16 matches this season. UC Riverside has averaged less than 1.00 goals per match just twice in its 15-year history—2010, three goals in 18 matches; 2009, 14 goals in 19 matches.
CRAZY EIGHTS
UC Riverside has dropped eight straight matches which is the longest losing streak in the history of the program.
FOUR SCORE(LESS)
The Highlanders have been shutout in each of their last four matches which is the longest such streak for the team since the 2010 version went seven straight matches without a goal.
DAZZLING DEBUT
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Annie Bailey made her Highlanders debut in a 3-0 shutout victory at Akron on September 11 (
box score/
recap). The last member of the Highlanders to toss a shutout in their first start between the pipes was Sara Slaughter who blanked Pacific on October 9, 2012 (
box score/
recap).
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
In just two-plus years with the Highlanders, Blanca Barrio ranks second on the Highlanders' career assists chart with 14. That is one assist behind Tyler Cunningham's record of 15.
DRAW!
The Highlanders have three ties through 14 matches this season. The last time UC Riverside had more than three ties in a year was 2009, when they had four draws at season's end. The program record is six, set by the 2005 squad.
BONUS SOCCER
The Highlanders have had five matches this season go into overtime, and they are 0-2-3 in those matches. They were 0-4-0 in overtime matches a year ago, and last won an overtime contest on October 17, 2014 in a 3-2 victory over UC Santa Barbara (
box score/
recap). The program record for most overtime matches in a season is eight set in 2013
SEVEN YEAR ITCH
Tyler Cunningham's seven goals last year were the most for a member of the Highlanders since Tessa Lennala netted 11 back in the 2009 campaign.
DOUBLE DIGITS
The Highlanders reached the 10-win plateau last year for the first time since the 2006 season.
| Year |
W |
L |
T |
| 2004 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
| 2003 |
11 |
7 |
3 |
| 2005 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
| 2015 |
11 |
9 |
0 |
| 2002 |
10 |
8 |
1 |
| 2006 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
GONE STREAKING
The Highlanders won three straight matches from August 30 through September 6, 2015. That marked the first time UCR won three straight since the 2009 season. They also won three straight from October 9 through 16, 2015. The last time UC Riverside won four matches in a row was early in the 2006 season.
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
Elizabeth Silas posted a goals against average of 0.94 last season, becoming 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 TWO
The Highlanders are 35-5-2 over the past five-plus seasons when scoring two or more goals in a match. Their last loss when scoring two or more goals was a 3-2, double overtime decision vs. CSU Bakersfield from September 25 of this year (
box score/
recap).
Season
|
Record Scoring
Two Or More Goals |
| 2016 |
2-1-0 |
| 2015 |
9-1-0 |
| 2014 |
6-2-1 |
| 2013 |
7-1-0 |
| 2012 |
6-0-1 |
| 2011 |
6-0-0 |
RARIFIED AIR
The 2015 Highlanders' five conference wins tied the program record for most Big West wins in a season.
| Season |
W |
L |
T |
Pts |
Place |
| 2003 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
Third |
| 2015 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
15 |
Fourth |
| 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 Blanca Barrio to the preseason All-Conference Team.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Sixteen different Highlanders dented the back of the net in 2014, which is the most in the history of the program. Twelve different players had 28 total scores for the team last season, while nine Highlanders have goals in 2016.
