Riverside—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team hits the road this weekend, traveling to Las Vegas for the Johann Memorial Classic. On Friday, September 2, the Highlanders take on Santa Clara at 9 pm PT, and on Sunday, September 4, they tangle with host UNLV. Cal State Fullerton is the fourth team involved in the four-team tournament.
UCR won its season opener for the fifth straight year last weekend, upending California Baptist University 2-1 (
box score/
recap). Ricardo Ruiz and Dylan Smith scored goals for the Highlanders, and Romario Lomeli was credited with an assist which moved him into sole possession of second place on UC Riverside's career assist chart.
Santa Clara dropped its season opener, 1-0, at Wisconsin despite out-shooting the Badgers 10-7 on the night. A year ago, the Broncos were 11-8-1 overall, including 5-1-1 in the West Coast Conference. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they topped Cal State Fullerton, 3-0, before falling, 3-1, to #7 Stanford.
The team's top scorer from a year ago, Carlos Delgadillo (10 goals and 4 assists) is back, as is Edson Cardona (4 goals, 1 assist). Sophomore transfer Dakota Havlick takes over in goal this season after playing at UCLA in 2015..
The Highlanders are 0-2-0 all-time against Santa Clara, having dropped one-goal decisions in each of the last two seasons—1-0 on September 14, 2014 (
box score/
recap/
video highlights) and 2-1 on September 18 , 2015 (
box score/
recap)
UNLV enters the weekend with a 1-1-0 mark, dropping a 3-1 decision to Old Dominion, and upending VCU, 2-1, in double overtime. The Rebels take on Cal State Fullerton Friday evening before tangling with the Highlanders. Last season, UNLV finished 12-7-1 with a 5-4-1 record in the WAC.
Danny Musovski leads the team with two goals on the season. He led UNLV a year ago with 14 goals and five assists. Nathan Bohm takes over in goal for the Rebels after playing just 90 minutes as a back up to Richard Garness a season ago.
UC Riverside is 6-4-0 all-time against the Rebels including wins in six of the last eight meetings. UNLV came away with the 2-0 win in the last match between the clubs, however, topping the Highlanders 2-0 on September 28, 2014 (
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 12 assists in his career—tied for the second most in program history, and two back of Otis Earle's ('14) UCR career record of 14.
Player
|
Assists |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Romario Lomeli |
12 |
| Andrew Villalobos |
11 |
| Luc Harrington |
11 |
| Jordan Arias |
11 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO Since the 2011 season, the Highlanders are 33-1-1 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 |
| 2016 |
1-0-0 |
| 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 |
