Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (2-3-0) looks to get back to its winning ways this week as the Highlanders host San Diego on Thursday, September 15 at 7 pm PT, and #22 Gonzaga on Sunday, September 18 at 11 am.
UCR opened the 2016 season with wins in each of its first two matches, but since then, the Highlanders have lost three in a row, all on the road.
Ricardo Ruiz
(Lake Elsinore, CA) netted his team-leading second goal of the season on Sunday in UC Riverside's 2-1, overtime loss at Air Force (
box score/
recap). Romario Lomeli
(Panorama City, CA) leads the team with two assists, and now has 13 for his career—one behind program record holder Otis Earle's 14.
Vincent Morales
(Bellflower, CA) has played all 452-plus minutes between the pipes for the Highlanders this season, and has a goals against average of 1.79, while leading the Big West Conference with 22 saves.
San Diego is 2-1-2 on the season with three of those results coming against Big West competition—a 5-2 loss to then #10 UC Santa Barbara, a 0-0 draw against UC Davis, and a 3-0 victory over Sacramento State. The Toreros also have a 1-1 draw against Duke on their 2016 ledger.
San Diego has eight goals in its five matches to date, led by Miguel Berry's three scores and Michael Turner's two. Djordje Babic leads the team with three assists. Thomas Olsen is the Torero's primary keeper with a goals against average of 1.52 in five matches to go along with 15 saves.
UC Riverside is 0-5-2 all-time against the Toreros, but 0-1-2 since 2013. The teams last played one another on August 31, 2015, in a 3-0 San Diego win (
box score/
recap)
Gonzaga brings an undefeated 5-0-1 record into the weekend, and travels to Utah Valley on Thursday before making its way to the Inland Empire. The Zags opened the season with a 1-1 draw against Bradley, and have since won five straight matches.
Gonzaga has 15 goals in six matches, with five players atop the team leader board with two apiece. In all, 10 different Bulldogs players have scored this season, and 10 have recorded assists. Ben Willis has played all 560 minutes in goal, and has a goals against average of 0.96 with 18 saves and a shutout.
The Highlanders are 2-0-0 all-time against Gonzaga, but the teams have not squared off against one another since the 2008 season when UC Riverside upended the Bulldogs, 3-2 (
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).
LENDING A HELPING FOOT
Senior midfielder Romario Lomeli has 13 assists in his career—the second most in program history, and one back of Otis Earle's ('14) UCR career record of 14.
Player
|
Assists |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Romario Lomeli |
13 |
| 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 |
