Photo by: Carlos Puma
Men's Soccer Travels To Sacramento State For First Round Big West Tournament Match
11/1/2016 8:17:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Â
Sacramento, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team begins its quest for a Big West Conference Championship, as well as its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth, on Saturday, November 5 when the Highlanders travel to Sacramento State for a 3 pm PT kick off against the Hornets. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for youth (3-17) and seniors (65+), and $5 for students of both universities.
UCR is the three seed in the South Division, while Sacramento State secured the number two seed in the North. The winner of Saturday's match advances to the semifinals, and travels to CSUN on Wednesday November 8. The Matadors wrapped up the number one seed in the South with a 1-0 win over the Highlanders on Saturday (box score/recap).
In the other First Round match up, Cal State Fullerton hosts UC Davis with the winner heading to UC Santa Barbara in the other semifinal match.
Â
This is the Highlanders fourth trip to the Big West Tournament in the last six years, but they are still looking for their first victory (view all-time Big West Tournament results).
After starting off conference play with a 4-0-1 record this season, and outscoring the opposition 10-3, UC Riverside has dropped five straight one-goal matches, four of which were 1-0 shutouts.
Romario Lomeli continues to lead the conference in assists with nine, and is third in the league in points with 19. He also ranks first on the team in goals with five. Seven other Highlanders have either two or three goals on the season.
Goalkeeper Victor Morales ranks second in the conference in wins (9), and first in shutouts (5), saves (99) and save percentage (.813). His win and shutout figures are the second most in program history, behind Charles Alamo who produced six clean sheets during the 2007 campaign.
Sacramento State won two of its first three Big West matches this season, but went 2-4-1 down the stretch. They are last in the league averaging 0.90 goals per match against conference competition. Only seven members of the team have goals to their credit this season led by Alex Bettencourt's six. Ivan Ramirez's four assists are tops on the team, while James Del Curto is the Hornets' primary keeper with a 1.38 goals against average in 17 matches.
The Highlanders are 6-3-3 all-time against Sacramento State with wins in four straight matches and five of the last six meetings between the clubs. UC Riverside beat the Hornets, 2-0, earlier in the season with Tyler Miguel and Emilio Huerto denting the back of the net in the victory (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.
Â
Â
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Goalkeeper Vincent Morales has 99 saves through 19 matches this season. He needs nine more saves to break the program record for saves in a season.
Â
He is also challenging the Highlanders' record for most wins in a season, and shutouts in a season.
Â
Â
SCORING DROUGHT
The Highlanders have scoed just one goal in their last five matches, and have dropped five straight one-goal decisions.
STREAKING THE WRONG WAY
UC Riverside has lost five straight matches, which marks the longest losing streak for the program since the 2009 season when they dropped nine straight.
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).
Â
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.
Â
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.
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.
Â
| Big West Tournament First Round |
| Hornet Field |
| UC Riverside (9-9-1, 4-5-1) at Sacramento State (8-8-2, 4-5-1) |
| Saturday, November 5, 3:00 pm PT |
| Ticket Information |
| Live Stats |
| Live Streaming |
| All-Time Results vs. Sacramento State (6-3-3) |
Sacramento, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team begins its quest for a Big West Conference Championship, as well as its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth, on Saturday, November 5 when the Highlanders travel to Sacramento State for a 3 pm PT kick off against the Hornets. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for youth (3-17) and seniors (65+), and $5 for students of both universities.
UCR is the three seed in the South Division, while Sacramento State secured the number two seed in the North. The winner of Saturday's match advances to the semifinals, and travels to CSUN on Wednesday November 8. The Matadors wrapped up the number one seed in the South with a 1-0 win over the Highlanders on Saturday (box score/recap).
In the other First Round match up, Cal State Fullerton hosts UC Davis with the winner heading to UC Santa Barbara in the other semifinal match.
Â
|
Big West Conference
Men's Soccer Tournament
|
|||||
| First Round | Semifinals | Finals | |||
| (2S) CSF | |||||
| vs. | _________ | ||||
| (3N) UCD | vs. | _________ | |||
| (1N) UCSB | |||||
| vs. | |||||
| (1S) CSUN | |||||
| (2N) Sac St. | vs. | _________ | |||
| vs. | _________ | ||||
| (3S) UCR | |||||
This is the Highlanders fourth trip to the Big West Tournament in the last six years, but they are still looking for their first victory (view all-time Big West Tournament results).
After starting off conference play with a 4-0-1 record this season, and outscoring the opposition 10-3, UC Riverside has dropped five straight one-goal matches, four of which were 1-0 shutouts.
Romario Lomeli continues to lead the conference in assists with nine, and is third in the league in points with 19. He also ranks first on the team in goals with five. Seven other Highlanders have either two or three goals on the season.
Goalkeeper Victor Morales ranks second in the conference in wins (9), and first in shutouts (5), saves (99) and save percentage (.813). His win and shutout figures are the second most in program history, behind Charles Alamo who produced six clean sheets during the 2007 campaign.
Sacramento State won two of its first three Big West matches this season, but went 2-4-1 down the stretch. They are last in the league averaging 0.90 goals per match against conference competition. Only seven members of the team have goals to their credit this season led by Alex Bettencourt's six. Ivan Ramirez's four assists are tops on the team, while James Del Curto is the Hornets' primary keeper with a 1.38 goals against average in 17 matches.
The Highlanders are 6-3-3 all-time against Sacramento State with wins in four straight matches and five of the last six meetings between the clubs. UC Riverside beat the Hornets, 2-0, earlier in the season with Tyler Miguel and Emilio Huerto denting the back of the net in the victory (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.
Â
| Most Big West Wins, Season, Team | |
| W-L-T | Year |
| 4-3-3 | 2011 |
| 4-3-3 | 2014 |
| 4-5-1 | 2004 |
| 4-5-1 | 2013 |
| 4-5-1 | 2016 |
| Most Wins, Season, Team | |
| W-L-T | Year |
| 10-8-0 | 2012 |
| 9-9-1 | 2016 |
| 9-8-3 | 2013 |
| 9-6-4 | 2011 |
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Goalkeeper Vincent Morales has 99 saves through 19 matches this season. He needs nine more saves to break the program record for saves in a season.
Â
| Most Saves, Season, Individual | ||
| Saves | Player | Year |
| 107 | Brett Bentley | 2001 |
| 99 | Vincent Morales | 2016 |
| 92 | Cody Suppé | 2011 |
| 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.
Â
| 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 | ||
| SHO | Player | Year |
| 6 | Charles Alamo | 2007 |
| 5 | Vincent Morales | 2016 |
| 4 | Ashkan Khosravi | 2012 |
| 4 | KC John | 2013 |
| 4 | Charles Alamo | 2004 |
SCORING DROUGHT
The Highlanders have scoed just one goal in their last five matches, and have dropped five straight one-goal decisions.
STREAKING THE WRONG WAY
UC Riverside has lost five straight matches, which marks the longest losing streak for the program since the 2009 season when they dropped nine straight.
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).
Â
| Most Assists, Career | |
| Player | Assists |
| Romario Lomeli | 20 |
| 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.
Â
| 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.
Â
| 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 |
Highlander Hot Talk Podcast - Spring Sports Recap 5/21/2026
Thursday, May 21
Day in the Life: Leilani Juan
Monday, May 04
UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
Friday, May 01
UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
