Santa Barbara, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Soccer Team (5-7-2, 2-0-0) looks to extend its perfect start to Big West play as the Highlanders host Cal State Fullerton (8-2-2, 1-0-0) on Thursday, October 5 in UCR's conference home opener. Kickoff is set for 5 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
SO FAR, SO GOOD
The Highlanders earned a pair of road victories to open the conference season, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 4-1 on September 29 (box score/recap), and Cal Poly, 1-0 on October 1 (box score/recap). At 2-0-0, this marks UCR's best start to Big West play since 2013.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Highlanders have won three straight matches on the road, at CSU Bakersfield, 3-1; at UC Santa Barbara, 4-1; and at Cal Poly, 1-0. The only other time in the program's history that UC Riverside strung together three consecutive road victories was in the 2006 season when they beat Air Force, 2-0, (box score/recap) on August 27; #22 Fresno State, 1-0, (box score/recap) on September 22; and San Jose State, 2-1 (box score/recap) on September 24. During that 2006 streak, UC Riverside also won two neutral site matches— vs. Buffalo, 4-1 (box score/recap) and San Diego State, 1-0 (box score/recap) at UC Irvine.
DON'T STOP NOW
UC Riverside enters Thursday afternoon having won three straight contests. The last time the Highlanders earned three consecutive victories was from October 9-16, 2015, before falling to Cal State Fullerton in their next match at home.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
The Highlanders have scored 15 goals on the year, and ten players have at least one score to their credit. The Highlanders also have 14 assists on the year, and nine players have at least one assist on their ledger. The balanced contributions have continued into conference, where UCR has received five goals from five different goalscorers, and four assists from four different passers.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Thanks to three second-half goals, the Highlanders defeated UC Santa Barbara, 4-1 in their highest-scoring conference match in program history. The last time UCR scored four goals in any match was on August 30, 2015 in a 4-2 win over Southern Utah (box score/recap).
STEPPING UP
Goalkeeper Annie Bailey enters Thursday fresh off her first two career conference starts. Among goalkeepers that have played two Big West games this season, she ranks first with a goals against average of 0.50. Her six saves in the 1-0 win at Cal Poly were just one shy of her career-high.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
The Highlanders erased a 2-0 deficit at Denver on August 25, emerging with a 2-2 tie after a pair of scoreless overtime periods (box score/recap). The last time the Highlanders fell behind by two goals and secured at least a tie was on September 2, 2012. Trailing UTEP 2-0 late in the first, UC Riverside scored a goal just before halftime, and tied the score in the second, before netting the game-winner in the first overtime period for the 3-2 victory (box score/recap).
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
The 2016 Highlanders' offense was led by a pair of seniors—Tayler Dragoo (4 goals, 1 assist) and Blanca Barrio (2 goals, 4 assists). Barrio graduated as the Highlanders' career leader in assists. Quinley Quezada (2 goals, 0 assists) and Hailey Maxwell (2 goals, 0 assists) are the team's top returning scorers.
BONUS SOCCER
The Highlanders had six matches last season go into overtime, and they were 0-2-4 in those matches. They were 0-4-0 in overtime matches the previous year, and are 0-2-2 in extra time this season. UC Riverside last won an overtime contest on October 17, 2014 in a 3-2 victory over UC Santa Barbara (box score/recap). The program record for most overtime matches in a season is eight set in 2013.
BUFFALOED
UC Riverside gave up five goals in the first half to Colorado on August 27 in an eventual 6-0 loss (
box score/
recap). The Highlanders have allowed five goals in a half on two other occasions—at Oregon on September 7, 2007 (
box score/
recap), vs. Long Beach State on September 28, 2012 (
box score/
recap).
The six goals allowed by the Highlanders are tied for the second most scored by a UC Riverside opponent in program history.
UC Riverside's three shots on the day tied for the second fewest in program history. The record low was two shots against those same Buffaloes in their 2005 NCAA Tournament appearance.
DOUBLE DIGITS
The Highlanders reached the 10-win plateau in 2015 for the first time since the 2006 season.
| Year |
W |
L |
T |
| 2004 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
| 2003 |
11 |
7 |
3 |
| 2005 |
11 |
4 |
6 |
| 2015 |
11 |
9 |
0 |
| 2002 |
10 |
8 |
1 |
| 2006 |
10 |
7 |
1 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO
The Highlanders are 39-5-3 over the past six-plus seasons when scoring two or more goals in a match. Their last loss when scoring two or more goals was a 3-2, double-overtime decision vs. CSU Bakersfield from September 25 of 2016 (
box score/
recap).
Season
|
Record Scoring
Two Or More Goals |
| 2017 |
2-0-1 |
| 2016 |
3-1-0 |
| 2015 |
9-1-0 |
| 2014 |
6-2-1 |
| 2013 |
7-1-0 |
| 2012 |
6-0-1 |
| 2011 |
6-0-0 |
RARIFIED AIR
The 2015 Highlanders' five conference wins tied the program record for most Big West wins in a season.
| Season |
W |
L |
T |
Pts |
Place |
| 2003 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
Third |
| 2015 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
15 |
Fourth |
| 2005 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
15 |
Second |
| 2002 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
13 |
Sixth |
| 2013 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
12 |
Third |
