Los Angeles, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Soccer Team (0-6-0) closes out its regular season non-conference schedule this Sunday, September 24 at Loyola Marymount (1-5-2). Kickoff is at 1 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
TIME TO STRIKE
The Highlanders four-goal performance at Grand Canyon last Thursday (box score / recap) was its best offensive output since putting up a 4-0 scoreline at Sacramento State back on Oct. 2, 2014 (box score / recap). The Highlanders have scored multiple goals in two of their last four outings, and will now face an LMU side that has conceded at least once in five straight matches.
SHARING THE WEALTH
UC Riverside is averaging 1.5 goals per game over its last four matches, with all six goals over that span coming from a different player. It took just five games for the Highlanders to have six players with at least two points, compared to eight games in 2016.
THE CATALYST
Freshman forward Anthony Lopez leads the way with four points this season. Against Oregon State on September 3, he provided UC Riverside with its first two-assist performance since Romario Lomeli did it in the Highlanders' most recent win against UC Irvine (Oct. 12, 2016). Lopez followed that up 11 days later with his first career goal against Grand Canyon.
FIRE AWAY
The Highlanders recorded a season-high eight shots on goal in each of their last two outings. They have had at least 15 shots in back-to-back games, including a season-high 17 at Grand Canyon. Lopez and Ricardo Ruiz lead the way with 13 and 11 shots this season, respectively.
THE SAVIOR
Redshirt senior Goalkeeper Vincent Morales recorded 102 saves last season, which is the second-highest single-season total in UC Riverside history.
| Most Saves, Season, Individual |
| Saves |
Player |
Year |
| 107 |
Brett Bentley |
2001 |
| 102 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 92 |
Cody Suppé |
2011 |
| 83 |
Ryan Schmitz |
2008 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2006 |
| 80 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
He came within one victory of tying the Highlanders' record for most wins in a season, and one clean sheet from tying the record for most shutouts in a season.
| Most Wins, Season, Individual |
| Wins |
Player |
Year |
| 10 |
Ashkan Khosravi |
2012 |
| 9 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 9 |
Cody Suppé |
2011 |
| 7 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
| Most Shutouts, Season, Individual |
| SHO |
Player |
Year |
| 6 |
Charles Alamo |
2007 |
| 5 |
Vincent Morales |
2016 |
| 4 |
Ashkan Khosravi |
2012 |
| 4 |
KC John |
2013 |
| 4 |
Charles Alamo |
2004 |
DAZZLING DEBUT
In his first two starts between the pipes as a collegian two years ago, 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). The Bellflower, California native picked up his third career Defensive Player of the Week Award on September 19 of this year, following the Highlanders' defeat of 20th-ranked Gonzaga (
story).
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Midfielder Romario Lomeli ('17) finished his UC Riverside career as the program's career leader in assists.
| Most Assists, Career |
| Player |
Assists |
| Romario Lomeli |
20 |
| Otis Earle |
14 |
| Andrew Villalobos |
11 |
| Luc Harrington |
11 |
| Jordan Arias |
11 |
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO
Since the 2011 season, the Highlanders are 39-3-2 when they score two or more goals in a match.
| Season |
Record Scoring Two-Plus Goals |
| 2017 |
0-2-0 |
| 2016 |
7-1-1 |
| 2015 |
6-0-0 |
| 2014 |
4-0-1 |
| 2013 |
6-0-0 |
| 2012 |
8-1-0 |
| 2011 |
8-0-0 |
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. They returned to the conference tournament again in 2016 as the three seed in the South Division.
