Denver, CO—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team remains on the road this week as the Highlanders travel to Colorado Terrtoty for matches at Denver on Friday, September 9 at 4:30 pm PT, and at Air Force on Sunday, September 11 beginning at 12 pm.
UCR is coming off a second place finish at the UNLV Johann Memorial Classic where they upended Santa Clara, 1-0 (
box score/
recap), but fell, 2-1, to the host Rebels (
box score/
recap). Highlanders' goalkeeper Vincent Morales as named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts (
story), and Philipp Dominique, Jacob Arrieta, and Romario Lomeli were named to the All-Tournament Team (
story).
Denver is 3-0-1 on the season, and brings a three-match winning streak into the weekend. Alex Underwood has two of the Pioneers six goals on the season, and Chandler Crosswait leads the team with three assists. Nick Gardner has played all four matches in goal, and boasts a goals against average of 0.71 to go along with 12 saves.
The Highlanders are 1-0-0 all-time against Denver, having picked up a, 1-0, victory over the Pioneers on September 17, 2004 (
box score/
recap)
Air Force enters the week with a 1-2-0 record, and hosts Bryant University on Friday before welcoming the Highlanders. Abinadi Samayoa has two of the team's three goals on the year, while John Wendt (191:54 minutes, 2.34 GAA) and Jake Schenk (90:00 minutes, 0.00 GAA) have shared time in goal.
UC Riverside is 1-1-0 all-time against the Falcons, dropping a, 1-0, decision to Air Force on September 2, 2001 (
recap), but defeating the Falcons by an identical, 1-0, score on September 24, 2010 (
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).
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
Vincent Morales has a goals against average of 1.00 on the season. Should he maintain that figure, it would be the lowest goals against average in program history, besting Charles Alamo's 1.03 set in the 2007 campaign.
GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Highlanders are undefeated in their last five season openers.
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.
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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.
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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.
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| 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 |
