Riverside—With two matches to play in the regular season, the UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team has secured a spot in the Big West Conference Tournament, but seeding for the postseason is still up for grabs. Just one point separates the Highlanders, CSUN and Cal State Fullerton for first place in the division.
UC Riverside travels to UC Irvine on Wednesday, October 26, and to CSUN on Saturday, October 29. Both matches begin at 7 pm PT.
Big West
Men's Soccer Standings |
| NORTH DIVISION |
| UC Santa Barbara |
5 |
0 |
3 |
18 |
| Sacramento State |
4 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
| UC Davis |
3 |
5 |
0 |
9 |
| Cal Poly |
1 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
| SOUTH DIVISION |
| CSUN |
4 |
2 |
2 |
14 |
| UC Riverside |
4 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
| Cal State Fullerton |
4 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
| UC Irvine |
2 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
Highlanders wins in both matches coupled with a Cal State Fullerton loss or tie will give UC Riverside its second South Division Championship in three years.
UCR has dropped three straight 1-0 decisions heading into the final week of the regular season. Romario Lomeli continues to lead the conference in assists with eight, and is third in the league in points with 18.
Goalkeeper Victor Morales ranks first in the conference in wins (9), shutouts (5), saves (90) and save percentage (.811). His win and shutout figures are the second most in program history, behind Charles Alamo who produced six clean sheets during the 2007 campaign.
UC Irvine is in fourth place in the South Division, and has been eliminated from postseason competition following the Anteaters' 3-1 loss at CSUN on Saturday.
The 'Eaters have 17 goals in 17 matches, and no player on the roster has more than three goals to their credit. Elliot Farmer has 11 starts on the year in goal for Irvine, while Alex Waldron has the other six. Farmer has a goals against average of 2.35, while Waldron has a GAA of 1.68.
The Highlanders are 10-19-3 all-time against UC Irvine, but UC Riverside has won three of the last five meetings between the teams including a 3-0 home win on October 12 of this year (
box score/
recap).
CSUN (7-6-3, 4-2-2) is in the driver's seat in the South Division with a one point lead over the Highlanders and Titans. Wins in their final two matches will give the Matadors the number one seed in the division.
Juan Samayoa's 18 points on the year (six goals, six assists) are good enough for third in the conference. Goalkeeper Kevin Marquez has started all 16 matches for the Matadors, and has a goals against average of 1.31.
The Highlanders are 4-18-7 all-time against CSUN, but 4-6-1 over the last 11 matches. The Matadors won both matches between the clubs a year ago, as well as this year's match on October 18 (
box score/
recap).
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 |
| 4-3-1 |
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 |
| 9-7-1 |
2016 |
| 9-8-3 |
2013 |
| 9-6-4 |
2011 |
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Goalkeeper Vincent Morales has 90 saves through 17 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 |
| 90 |
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 |
| SOs |
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 |
