Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (4-12-1, 4-5-1) needed a victory over visiting CSUN (9-8-3, 4-4-2) Saturday in order to secure a berth in the Big West Tournament, and the Highlanders did just that in erasing a 1-0 second-half deficit, punching their ticket to the postseason with a 2-1 win.
MATCH NOTES
With the victory over CSUN, the Highlanders finish the regular season in third place in the Big West Conference South Division, one point behind Cal State Fullerton and the Matadors.
UC Riverside will play either Sacramento State or UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, November 1 in the first round of the conference tournament. The Hornets play UC Davis on Sunday at 1 pm PT, and the outcome of that match will determine the Highlanders' opponent.
| Big West Men's Soccer Standings |
| SOUTH DIVISION |
| 1 |
Cal State Fullerton |
4 |
4 |
2 |
14 |
| 2 |
CSUN |
4 |
4 |
2 |
14 |
| 3 |
UC Riverside |
4 |
5 |
1 |
13 |
| 4 |
UC Irvine |
3 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
| NORTH DIVISION |
| 1 |
UC Davis |
6 |
2 |
1 |
19 |
| 2 |
UC Santa Barbara |
4 |
3 |
3 |
15 |
| 3 |
Sacramento State |
4 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
| 4 |
Cal Poly |
3 |
6 |
1 |
10 |
Antonio Lokossou scored his fifth goal of the year overall, and his third in Big West play in the win over the Matadors.
Lokossou's goal was his third game-winner of the season, tying him for second place on the Highlanders' single-season list. Cesar Diaz Pizarro holds the UCR single-season record with three game-winners during the 2011 season.
After starting the season 0-10-0, the Highlanders have gone 4-2-1 over their final seven matches of the regular season.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Vincent Morales had five saves on the night. It was his ninth consecutive match with four or more saves, the longest of any goalkeeper in UC Riverside's Division I history.
Vincent Morales now leads the Big West with 80 saves, 18 more than his nearest competitor.
