Davis, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (6-4-1, 1-0-1) is off to its best Big-West start in program history, going unbeaten in its first two matches of the season. Next up for the Highlanders is a northern road trip that takes them to UC Davis, Thursday, October 6, for a 1:30 pm PT match against the Aggies, and to Sacramento State, Saturday, October 8, for a 3 pm meeting with the Hornets.
UCR began Big West play last Thursday with a 2-2 tie against UC Santa Barbara (
box score/
recap) and a 1-0 victory over Cal Poly (
box score/
recap). Romario Lomeli added to his conference-leading assist total, picking up his sixth of the year in the draw against the Gauchos. He also scored his third goal of the season against UCSB, and leads the team with 12 points.
Vincent Morales continues to toe the goal line for the Highlanders, playing in all 1051-plus minutes, and recording a Big West-high 60 saves on the year.
UC Davis is 5-4-2 this season, after splitting its first two Big West matches of the season last week, beating CSUN, 2-1, but dropping a 3-2 decision at UC Irvine.
The Aggies and Highlanders played three common opponents during the non-conference portion of their schedules, taking on San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose State. UC Riverside went 2-1-0 in those matches, while UC Davis went 0-2-1.
UCD has 13 goals in 11 matches this year, led by Nosh Wilson's four scores, and Kristian Heptner's three. Defensively, the Aggies are allowing 1.04 goals per 90 minutes. Goalkeeper Armando Quezada has starts in 10 of Davis' 11 matches, and a goals against average of 0.99, which is the best in the Big West.
The Highlanders are 3-15-1 all-time against the Aggies, and have never won at UC Davis in 10 previous tries. Last season UC Riverside dropped a 2-0 decision to the Aggies at home (
box score/
recap)
Sacramento State also split its first two conference matches of the season, and is 5-4-1 on the year. The Hornets host Cal State Fullerton on Thursday before welcoming the Highlanders to Hornet Soccer Field.
UC Riverside and Sacramento State shared two common opponents during the non-conference portion of their schedules, with both program's taking on San Diego and San Jose State. The Hornets dropped a 3-0 decision to the Toreros, and beat San Jose State, 3-2, while the Highlanders beat both teams, 2-0.
Alex Bettencourt (4 goals), Ivan Ramirez (4) and Nate Nugen (3) have scored 11 of the Hornets' 13 goals on the season, and Bettencourt and Trevor Jackson are tied for third in the Big West with four assists apiece. Goalkeeper James Del curto has starts in nine of the team's 10 matches, and a goals against average of 1.52
The Highlanders are 5-3-3 all-time against Sacramento State, and have won three straight, and four of the last five, against the Hornets. UC Riverside has outscored Sac State 8-1 over their last three wins, including a 3-1 decision a year ago (
box score/
recap).
GAME NOTES
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).
MORALES' SAVES
Goalkeeper Vincent Morales has 60 saves through 11 matches this season. If he keeps up that pace for the rest of the season, he will rank among the top five in single-season saves in Highlanders' history.
| Saves |
Player |
Year |
| 107 |
Brett Bentley |
2001 |
| 92 |
Cody Suppé |
2011 |
| 83 |
Ryan Schmitz |
2008 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2006 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
| 60 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
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).
Player
|
Assists |
| Romario Lomeli |
17 |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Andrew Villalobos |
11 |
| Luc Harrington |
11 |
| Jordan Arias |
11 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO Since the 2011 season, the Highlanders are 35-2-3 when they score two or more goals in a match. After opening the 2016 season with three straight wins when scoring two or more goals, UC Riverside tied San Jose State, 2-2 (
box score/
recap), and lost to San Francisco in double overtime, 3-2 (
box score/
recap). They then tied UC Santa Barbara, 2-2 (
box score/
recap).
Season
|
Record Scoring
Two Or More Goals |
| 2016 |
3-1-2 |
| 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 |
September 28, 2011 |
#7 UC Santa Barbara |
| 1,186 |
November 5, 2011 |
UC Davis |
| 1,147 |
November 6, 2013 |
#15 UC Irvine |
| 1,106 |
September 28, 2012 |
#3 UC Santa Barbara |
| 1,036 |
October 21, 2015 |
UC Irvine |
| 1,018 |
September 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 |
