Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team concludes its 2016 campaign this Thursday, October 27 as the Highlanders host Long Beach State at 7 pm PT. UCR will also celebrate the careers of their seven/eight seniors Thursday, 20 minutes prior to kick off.
The Highlanders have won their last two matches, snapping an eight-match losing streak by picking up 3-0 and 1-0 victories over UC Santa Barbara (
box score/
recap) and Cal Poly (
box score/
recap) respectively. Blanca Barrio had a hand in each of the team's four scores last week, and earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors in the process, while teammate Amanda Roy took home the Defensive Player of the Week award (
story).
Barrio also became the Highlanders career leader in assists with her second assist of the match in the team's win over the Gauchos. Her 39 career points are tied for fifth in program history.
Alanna Guzman was in goal for each of UC Riverside's victories last week, and she now has five clean sheets on the season.
Long Beach State is 7-6-3 on the year, but 3-1-2 in Big West play, which puts the 49ers in second place in conference. Ashley Gonzales leads the team with eight goals and three assists for 19 points. She ranks third in the Big West in both categories.
Ashton McKeown is Long Beach State's primary keeper with 13 starts on the year. She boasts a goals against average of 0.80 and an .831 save percentage.
The Highlanders are 5-8-4 all-time against Long Beach State, but have won three of the last four meetings between the clubs.
GAME NOTES
SCORING DROUGHT
The Highlanders have 18 goals in 18 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.
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
Blanca Barrio became the Highlanders career leader in assists with her second assist of the evening against UC Santa Barbara on October 21 (
box score/
recap), passing Tyler Cunningham '16 who established the record a year ago.
| Player |
Years |
Assists |
| Blanca Barrio |
2014-16 |
17 |
| Tyler Cunningham |
2012-15 |
13 |
| Renee Scachetti |
2002-05 |
13 |
| Vanessa Chanez |
2002-05 |
11 |
| Jenna Leonti |
2004-07 |
11 |
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
CRAZY EIGHTS
UC Riverside lost eight straight matches earlier this season which is the longest losing streak in the history of the program.
FOUR SCORE(LESS)
The Highlanders were shutout in four straight matches early in conference play which is the longest such streak for the team since the 2010 version went seven straight matches without a goal.
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 36-5-2 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 |
3-1-0 |
| 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 12 Highlanders have goals in 2016.
