Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team opens its 2016 season at home this weekend as the Highlanders host California Baptist University Friday, August 26 at 6 pm PT.
The Highlanders are without their top two scorers from a year ago—Norberto Ochoa (7 goals, 2 assists) and Michael Salazar (6 goals, 3 assists )—as both are gone to to graduation and the pursuit of their professional careers. The duo accounted for 57-percent of the team's scoring in 2015, and both players were named to the All-Big West, First Team and the All-Far West Region Third Team.
Senior Tyler Miguel (3 goals, 1 assist) is UC Riverside's top returning scorer from a year ago, while Mario Lomeli is back for his senior campaign after pacing the team in assists a year ago with four.
The Highlanders also must replace goalkeeper Ashkan Khosravi, who graduated with the most wins of any goalkeeper in UC Riverside's Division I history. Vincent Morales played in eight matches between the pipes a year ago, including five starts, posting a goals against average of 1.08, and earning Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of September 7-13.
California Baptist University was 6-10-4 a year ago, but they return leading scorer Daniel Westholm who netted nine goals a year ago, including two game-winners. Goalkeeper Noah Oyler is also back between the pipes for the Lancers. He recorded 60 saves a season ago en route to a 1.49 goals against average.
The Highlanders and CBU have met just one other time in a regulation (for UC Riverside) match. That meeting was on September 7, 2005, and ended in a 1-1 draw (
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).
GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Highlanders are undefeated in their last four season openers.
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
Senior midfielder Romario Lomeli has 11 assists in his career—tied for the second most in program history, and three back of Otis Earle's ('14) UCR career record of 14.
Player
|
Assists |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Romario Lomeli |
11 |
| Andrew Villalobos |
11 |
| Luc Harrington |
11 |
| Jordan Arias |
11 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO Since the 2011 season, the Highlanders are 32-1-1 when they score two or more goals in a match. Their lone loss was a double-overtime, 3-2 defeat at the hands of Cal State Fullerton on October 20, 2012.
Season
|
Record Scoring
Two Or More Goals |
| 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).
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 |
